Reading Chronicles Book 1: To the Victor, the Spoils
by yukicrewger2
Summary: I've seen other gods of the multiverse (read: authors) pulling in groups in order to read the works of others and record their reactions, so I thought I'd give it a try. Lets see how the rookie 12 react to what a fem Naruto can do. (Rated M just in case)
1. Prologue

**The only thing I own is the Crewger Family, they are my OCs and the only thing I will ever own in this story. Don't bitch at me for it.**

* * *

White.

That was all anyone could see around them at first if they were to look around. You wouldn't even be able to tell where the walls begin and the flood ended... or was that where the walls ended and the ceiling began?

This is were we find the group of genin labeled "The Rookie 12"

"Ow... What hit me?... Where am I?"

The fist to awaken was Naruto, followed closely by the others as they came to. Before any questions could be made, a clearing of the throat could be heard that caused the twelve to turn to the only other occupant of the space they were in.

He stood at roughly 5' 6" in height, with silver-ish white hair that hung over the right side of his face in three distinct bangs, followed by two fox ears popping out of the top of his head, also silver-ish white while tipped in black fur, looking down you could see a fox tail following the same color scheme. He had Emerald slitted eyes that seemed to shine in amusement. He was wearing black pants that hung wide near the bottom and a sleeveless white spandex muscle shirt that showed off his build. The shirt had a design running down the center that was of two thick black lines zig-zagging down while crossing each time, forming white diamonds shapes repeatedly between them; and looking closer, led to the same pattern only in white running down the sides of his pants legs. On his feet were a white version of the same ninja combat sandals that they themselves wore.

Kiba was the first to react surprisingly, or unsurprisingly given his personality. "Who the heck are you?"

The fox man bowed with a flourish, "My name is Yuki Crewger." he said before straightening himself to continue his introduction, "also known as the White Chaos and the god who rules over the fabric of space in the multiverse."

This got the genin to stiffen as if trying not to cause their immediate deaths. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you... much..." Oh, he was enjoying this. "I and my siblings decided that the way your futures were going was too much and we decided to take you guys in to read a bunch of stories detailing the happenings in other parallel worlds; to both give you an idea of how things may or may not happen in the future, as well as give you new ideas to train with. Be warned that some of your others may not be... flattering..."

Shino, ever the curious intellectual, was the first to speak up to this. "In what way, if I may ask?"

Yuki acknowledged him with a nod, "You may, for the worst example; Sasuke is a psychotic and deranged individual who cares for nothing but gaining power and would kill his own mother if it put himself close to killing his brother." Sasuke sunk into his thinking/brooding position and began to thing about if he could actually go that far, and finding himself slightly disturbed at how much it made him sound like what his brother did. "Even going so far as to kill some of his classmates in one instance for the sole reason of she wouldn't leave him alone." That got a disturbed look to appear on the other genin's faces as they looked at the brooder.

"Sakura is seen as a brainless fangirl who only got as far as se did due to her grades and was barely any better than a civilian." This got Sakura to look down in shame as some of the others looked at her in disgust, followed by Ino looking down in shame when she realized that she wasn't much better. "And to start is usually seen as having amazing book smarts, to the point of more than likely having photographic memory, but possesses very little to no street smarts or common sense, which while being not really measured at the academy, is vital for Shinobi in general."

"Naruto, despite being the focus for most of them, is either seen as being slow to the point of coming across as mentally disabled, or being so dark inside that missing-nin look like saints in comparison." That got a frown from Naruto while others who pieced what that meant with what they knew of the blonde gained a look of absolute fear at what could have been from that.

"Kiba is seen as a boy so lost in his anger and hormones that he's a borderline rapist." Kiba was torn between being angry at his description and paling at the looks of righteous feminine fury being aimed at him.

"Hinata is seen as either so cripplingly shy that she fades into the background as an unneeded character or is actually such a Yandere that she plots the death of any girl that gets close to Naruto." That got a curious and slightly disturbed look from Naruto at Hinata while she withdrew into her jacket in depression.

"And that's just to name to worse ones. The opposite could also be true, as one female Naruto had been raped at the age of 10 and spent half the academy and most of her ninja career raising her child." That one causes Naruto to blush heavily while others looked at him in surprise, not really seeing him doing that.

Yuki looked over the paler genin in front of him. "That being said, those are the exceptions and not the rule. To make things interesting, my brother will be leading a group consisting of your parents, the ninja council as well as the Hokage, while my sister is doing the same with your sensei as well as a few select others such as Kurenai's friend Anko, and Kiba's sister Hana. All three groups will be reading the same story to maximize ideas and prevent a peer mentality from dissuading plans and ideals."

Yuki then let them down, which brought up the shock that they had previously been floating, and brought in various pieces of furniture, a table full of snacks much to Choji's joy/relief, a television screen to show pictures and videos on.

Yuki then sat down on a floating egg chair that they didn't notice was there until he sat down on it, crossed his legs and pulled out the book as everyone else sat down and got comfy, followed by a bit of silence to allow everyone to let the information given to them sink in.

"Now then, everything that happens in these stories may or may not be true for you guys, or even possible. So keep that in mind and I will try to answer any questions you may have. Now then..." he opened up the book and rested it in his lap to read.

"Lets begin..." 

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**This is chapter one of what will hopefully by my Reading Chronicles series. Please take note that I will not use a story that I don't have permission from the author to use. on top of that, the way my computer is means that I will have to collaborate with the author of the stories I use in order to post up each chapter, otherwise each one may take months to write. So I am not stealing anything and I will use flamers as bonfire material for the next time I make smores or campfire hotdogs. You have been warned.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Day After

**The only thing I own is the Crewger Family, they are my OCs and the only thing I will ever own in this story. I have express permission from the author "Seerking" to use his story "Uzumaki Naruko: To the Victor, the Spoils V2" for this reading so don't complain that I am stealing his story. This is as much a collaboration as any other normal story between two authors. With that said, lets begin.**

* * *

Yuki took a breath and read the title " **Uzumaki Naruko: To the Victor, the Spoils** ".

Naruto spoke up in confusion "Wait... Naruko?"

Yuki gave a nod "Yup, in this world Naruto, you are a girl. It often happens, just like its often that Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sasuke are girls; or the occasional one where Hinata's a boy. Those ones are always interesting, watching a male Hinata hook up eventually with a female Naruto. Heck, there's one where Hinata's sister Hanabi is a boy."

Naruto was surprised, and th comments of gender swapping characters kept the usual rabble from commenting on it happening to Naruto, while Naruto stole glances at Hinata at the repeated mentions of him hooking up with the girl he had originally thought of as weird, but maybe she wasn't... maybe... maybe she would be worth going after instead... he'd have to see how a relationship turns out before he does anything about it though.

 **Chapter 1: The Day After**

 **Konohagakure no Sato, 12 Years after the Kyūbi Attack**

 **Uzumaki Naruko walked down the road to the Hokage Tower humming slightly. She felt like she was walking on air. Finally, after three years of consecutive failures, she had graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy and was a kunoichi.**

 **A slight frown crossed her face. Just yesterday she had failed the graduation exam again, an exam she now knew had been rigged by the traitor Mizuki so there was no way she could pass.**

This brought shocked looks of various levels from everyone as they looked at Naruto, he failed because he was sabotaged by one of the teachers? Yuki then spoke up, "Your sensei Iruka was the only teacher that didn't flat out ignore Naruto. While Mizuki went out of his way to mess up Naruto's education and keep him from graduating. His inability to use the clone jutsu isn't his fault, as about 60% of all Uzumaki are medically incapable of using so little chakra to actually use the clone technique. In fact, it was this problem that originally led the Nidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju to create the Shadow Clone technique in the first place."

Letting this sink in, Yuki continued reading.

 **Afterwards, Mizuki had come up and told her about a special make-up exam she could take. All she had to do was infiltrate the Hokage Tower, steal a specific scroll, learn a jutsu from it and presto, she could graduate.**

Now half of them just stared at Naruto with a deadpan expression while Hinata seemed to forget about her fainting problem as she shyly clung to Naruto's arm in an attempt to confort him as Naruto began to panic "I was desperate, OK!"

 **The infiltration had been easy**

"Wait... Sneaking passed Jounin and ANBU was easy?!" Ino looked both shocked and incredulous. Naruto nodded and blushed while Yuki spoke up. "Naruto, believe it or not, has ANBU recruit level stealth in his usual outfit when he was 7-9 years old. If he focused more on that then being the heavy hitter he turns out to be normally, he'd be the greatest infiltration specialist in history... think about that for a moment."

 **as the ANBU patrols were far too set in their patrol patterns and she had slipped though during a small gap when none of the ANBU could see her.**

 **She giggled when she remembered what happened next. Her Ji-chan had caught her as she was about to take the scroll, so she hit him with her original ninjutsu, the anti-pervert _Oiroke no Jutsu_ ( _Sexy Jutsu_ )**

Sakura scoffed "As if Hokage-sama would fall for such a perverted technique..."

 **and knocked him out, blood gushing from his nostrils as he left consciousness behind.**

Sakura was gaping at being proven wrong like that, before she began to blush. Whether that blush was out of embarrassment or mortification or even feminine rage was hard to tell. The others were chuckling at her expression though.

 **When she had reached the clearing, she had unrolled the scroll, only to discover that the first jutsu in it was a Clone Jutsu, her very worst ninjutsu. It had taken her two hours to learn the damn jutsu and she had been very tired afterwards.**

Yuki looked at them with a smug look on his face. "You call Naruto a dead last, and yet it took him only two hours to learn a B-Rank jutsu. Something that would take others months to learn and use to the level he got in that short amount of time. Does that sound like a dead last to you?"

Naruto blushed and smiled in pride as most of the others looked at Naruto in shock and a little bit of awe. Hinata just looked proud at Naruto as she sat next to him while Sasuke looked rather jealous.

"Besides, Naruto is a genius at Kinesthetic learning, so the boring lectures and paperwork of the classroom wouldn't be able to showcase his talents correctly."

 **Not long after she had mastered the jutsu, she had been discovered by Iruka-sensei, her other class teacher. He had just figured out Mizuki's plan when he pushed Naruko out of the way of a barrage of kunai and shuriken. He even took an Fūma Shuriken to the back in order to protect her.**

Hinata was clinging tightly to Naruto in fear for Naruto as well as the Naruko they were reading about, while the looks of horror spread among the faces of the othes as they realized just what was happening and how much of it actually happened.

 **Mizuki had then told her why she was hated by the villagers.**

 **She was the container of the Kyūbi no Kitsune, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed his life to defeat when it attacked the village twelve years ago.**

Those looks of horror grew as their skin paled at the thought. He had a demon sealed in him? And the villagers hated him for it?! Those in his class began regretting their treatment of the blond; Naruto was looking around in fear of how the others would react to him and was shrinking into his clothes as if trying to make himself smaller and not knowing how to react at seeing the regret on the others faces; Hinata cursed her shyness and was thankful that she could at least comfort the blonde now; Sasuke, however, didn't change much except for his paled complexion.

 **A soft smile graced Naruko's face as she remembered him telling Mizuki that she would never act like Mizuki and was not the demon fox. Those words had given her the courage to stand up once again and face down Mizuki.**

 **She had used her newly learned jutsu, the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ ( _Shadow Clone Jutsu_ ) and had beaten the man into a near unrecognisable pulp. Then Iruka-sensei had given her his own hitai-ate (Ninja Headband) and graduated her.**

Naruto had taken off his headband and softly smiled at it while running his thumb across its surface as he remembered that particular part.

 **Today, she was going to see her Ji-chan and have a talk with him about the damn fox. He had sent an ANBU to ask her to come as soon as possible. She was glad he had chosen a female ANBU as she had just gotten out of the shower.**

 ** _'Ok, that's one thing to ask Ji-chan about: why the hell ANBU doen't just knock on my door like everyone else instead of breaking in all the time.'_ Naruko thought to herself as she approached the entrance to the Hokage Tower.**

Everyone looked at Naruto; Tenten voicing their thoughts "Do they really do that?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head "Just Hebi (Snake), eh-heh-heh..."

* * *

 **Hokage's Office**

 **Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, Shinobi no Kami and surrogate grandfather to one Uzumaki Naruko, sat at his desk and wrestled with the once and future enemy of all Kage**

The genin all leaned forward in anticipation, what was it that all Kage had so much trouble with?

 **-paperwork.**

Everyone but Yuki faceplanted at the revelation, causing Yuki to chuckle before he continued.

 **He was dressed in the white robes and ceremonial hat of the Hokage and had a weary, burdened look about him that had nothing to do with his advancing years.**

Naruto gave a sad smile when he heard that, he had seen that look too. It had been one of the reasons he wanted to become Hokage, to let his Jiji rest from all of the burdens.

 **He just finished stamping 'denied' on yet another request to have Naruko exiled from the village**

This got many angry and disgusted looks from the genin.

 **when his secretary let him know that 'the Demon Bitch' had arrived.**

The angry looks got more intense as they felt even worse about Naruko's treatment and wondered if it was just as bad for their own Naruto.

 **"Thank you, Maya-san." Sarutobi said, barely keeping his anger in check. "Also, please clear out your desk. You are fired."**

That certainly got some cheers, much to Yuki's amusement.

 **His now ex-secretary stomped out grumbling under her breath and let Naruko in.**

 **Sarutobi smiled at his surrogate granddaughter fondly. Despite her use of that jutsu, her visits usually brightened his days considerably.**

 **Naruko was slightly shorter than most girls were at her age, which Sarutobi attributed to slight malnutrition.**

Naruto's flinch was not unnoticed by those around him, which drew even more worry and anger at how he was treated.

 **Her eyes were a bright blue and glinted with barely concealed mischief. She had three small scar-like marks on each cheek and a button nose. Her hair was a strange mix of both her father and mother. It was mostly blond like Minato's hair, but had red highlights mixed in like Kushina's hair and it seemed like the more she grew up, the more red appeared in her hair. Currently it was in a ponytail that stretched to the middle of her back. Around her neck was her pair of dark green goggles.**

A picture of Naruko came up on the screen and Kiba whistled at her, before blushing as he realized just what he was doing. He thought that Naruto's Oiroke no Jutsu just make a naked bombshell, but if that's what Naruto truly looked like as a girl, damn!

Hinata also blushed as thoughts about her doing things with a female Naruto started to fill her mind just as much as doing those same things with the Naruto sitting next to her did.

Naruto was lost more on the fact that he just found out his parent's names after getting confirmation from Yuki... Minato and Kushina... Hinata had been the one to notice that Naruto had begun to tear up as he hugged his arms to himself, finally having something to go by for his parents. He accepted the hug Hinata gave him and actually leaned into her embrace, much to the girl's secret joy.

Shikamaru was the only other person to notice the byplay and the wheels in his head began turning as he put everything together.

 **"Ji-chan!" Naruko called exuberantly as she sat down on the chair in front of his desk.**

 **"Naruko-chan." Sarutobi replied, restraining his instinctive impulse to wince at the kill-me-now orange jumpsuit she wore.**

Subdued, much to the shock of those who were just now seeing his state, Naruto muttered a low "its not that bad... is it?"

 **Seriously, how this girl managed to infiltrate the Hyuuga Estate and replace all their underwear with pink thongs whilst wearing that thing baffled him.**

"I admit nothing!" was the shout that interrupted the reading, getting looks of shock, either that he did or could do what was stated, a giggle from Hinata, Tenten falling over laughing, and Neji looking like the vein on the side of his forehead was either trying to burst or activate half of his Byakugan...

 **"Ji-chan, why do the ANBU always break into my apartment?" Naruko asked bluntly.**

 **Sarutobi let the wince show this time. "They do that?"**

 **"Yup. The ANBU you sent to fetch me this morning broke my window lock while I was in the shower and scared the crap out of me when I got out." Naruko said with a scowl.**

 **"I see." Sarutobi replied. "That was Hebi (Snake) today, wasn't it?"**

Yuki smirked, he could see the scowl on Naruto's face form the confirmation that it was in-fact the ANBU he had been talking about earlier. Gazing at his sister's section in the way only he and his family could do here, Yuki let his smirk grow when he saw that Kurenai had figured out who the "Hebi" ANBU was and was reprimanding Anko.

Turning his gaze of to his brother's section, the same realization seemed to be causing Hiruzen to be rubbing his temples in an attempt to drive off the coming headache.

 **"Yup."**

 **"I'll have a word with her." Sarutobi promised, "But for now…I suspect that you have some questions about your…tenant."**

 **Naruko's face fell slightly at the mention of the Kyūbi, but nodded. "Hai, Ji-chan. Mizuki-teme-" she spat the traitor's name out as if it was rotten food, "-said that I was the fox, that all those deaths twelve years ago were my fault-"**

Shikamaru had just put the final piece of the puzzle that was Naruto's treatment by the villagers into place upon hearing that, as had Shino and it disgusted them how stupid the villagers were acting when it came to Naruto. It was only a matter of time now for the rest to truly get it.

 **Sarutobi interrupted her furiously. "NO! You are Uzumaki Naruko, Genin of Konoha and container of the Kyūbi no Kitsune, not the beast itself!" He said firmly, making a mental note to have Ibiki and Anko have a…discussion with the former chunin about mentally tormenting his surrogate granddaughter.**

You could almost hear Anko's cheers from here.

 **"O-OK Ji-chan." Naruko replied, looking slightly relieved, "But then…why do the villagers hate me so much?"**

 **"Because, to be blunt, they don't have the slightest clue about what they are talking about." Sarutobi told her bluntly.**

"Huh?" was what slipped from a majority of the genin.

 **Seeing the blank look on his audiences' face, he expanded on his explanation. "When the Yondaime Hokage sealed the fox into you, he used an esoteric and difficult branch of the shinobi arts called Fūinjutsu. Using Fūinjutsu, anything is possible as long as you have the right formula. Unfortunately, as most shinobi prefer to use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu or Bukijutsu (Weapons Jutsu) rather than a complex and hard to understand art like Fūinjutsu, no-one could explain precisely what the Yondaime had done."**

 **Sarutobi held up a hand as Naruko looked as if she were about to interject. After she settled down again, he continued.**

 **"What further complicated the matter were the exact seals he used to seal the Kyūbi. There are at least two and I suspect there are more. The first was the _Shiki Fūjin_ ( _Reaper Death Seal_ ). The second was the _Hakke Fūin_ ( _Eight Trigrams Seal_ ) which is made of two _Shishō Fūin_ ( _Four Symbols Seals_ ). **

Sakura, in a rare attempt to get to know her teammate, spoke up. "Just... how many seals keep the Kyuubi in there?"

Yuki thought for a moment and began to count them both out loud and on his fingers "The _Shiki Fujin_ , which is powered by the god of death himself, the _Hakke no Fuin Shiki_ , Naruto acts as a living seal himself as its his will that keeps them going technically... The Kyuubi cannot break them, but Naruto could remove them. The fourth seal is a failsafe that resets the main seal back to the strength it had when it was first placed should Naruto use eight tails of the Kyuubi's chakra... then there's another failsafe that activates when he opens the cage, usually in an attempt to take full control of the Kyuubi and its chakra. So roughly five seals."

Sakura shook a little and nodded at the information, the smarter rookies were realizing just how much of a genius the fourth truly was.

 **Even the least complicated of these seals is way over the heads of an untrained civilian, so they act as humans often do: distrust what they don't understand."**

"As I remember from somewhere: A person is smart, people are stupid."

 **Naruko's face was an embodiment of anger. "And the shinobi?" She demands, "There had to have been someone who understood Fūinjutsu other than Yondaime-sama!"**

 **"There was and is." Sarutobi acknowledged. "My own student, Jiraya of the Sannin, is now Konoha's last remaining Seal Master. Unfortunately, Jiraya-kun is rarely in Konoha because he is in charge of our spy network, which requires him to be on the move on a frequent basis. That meant he wasn't in Konoha during the attack of the Kyūbi and, sadly, he couldn't tell the idiot civilians how they were disrespecting both the wishes AND the abilities of the Yondaime with every cry for your death."**

 _'Yeesh'_ Yuki thought _'Can't wait until we get passed this part, the solemn atmosphere is getting brutal.'_

 **"Great. Just great." Naruko said bitterly, "So no matter what I do, I'm screwed." Her eyes shone with tears she refused to shed.**

Hinata threw herself into giving her crush a hug, and let her tears drip onto his shoulder while others looked on at the blonde. Just hearing more and more of this was making them feel even worse...

 **"I would have to disagree with you there Naruko-chan." Sarutobi said gently, "Iruka's parents died during the Day of the Kyūbi. He now sees you for who you are. Ichiraku Teuchi and Ayame have known the truth of what you contain for years, and they see you for who you are as well. As for me, I have never seen you as _anything other_ than who you are."**

Naruto gave Hinata a hug as he felt a new emotion build up in his chest, one that he hadn't had enough time experiencing to figure out what it was, however alongside it, he felt happy at hearing those names.

 **Naruko scoffed softly. "Four people out of an entire village?"**

 **"The longest journeys often begin with the smallest of steps." Sarutobi told the depressed kunoichi. "Keep persevering and I don't doubt that you will become the Hokage."**

 **"Do…do you really believe I can do it, Ji-chan?" Naruko asked in a small voice, her eyes locked onto his own desperately.**

Seeing that look on the screen, and the matching one on Naruto's face was too much and forced a couple of them to look away in guilt.

 **"I hold no doubts." Sarutobi replied softly.**

 **Naruko wiped at her eyes for a moment then gave him one of her trademark foxy grins. "Thanks Ji-chan." she said in a voice more like her own.**

 **Sarutobi waved the thanks off. Privately, he was very relieved. By the looks of things, he had nipped that line of self-doubt in the bud just in time. The last thing the girl needed was an existential crisis on top of the pressures of being a new genin.**

 **"Now, to return to the seals…the seals are designed to allow you to draw upon the chakra of the Kyūbi and use it as your own." Sarutobi told Naruko solemnly.**

 **"WHAT?" Naruko yelped, disgust on her face, "If I use that chakra, the villagers will hate me even more!"**

The others seemed to subconsciously nod in agreement.

 **"Ah, well, there is no way for you to access the chakra at the moment." Sarutobi replied.**

Sakura seemed to sputter, "B-But, didn't he just say-"

 **"Eh?" Naruko responded with a quizzical expression on her face, "But you just said-"**

 **"At the moment, the seal is fully tightened." Sarutobi explained, "It only permits you to access the chakra of the demon fox when you truly believe your life to be in mortal danger."**

Sakura seemed to slump "Oh..."

 **"Oh…" Naruko seemed taken aback.**

Ino gave Sakura a nudge, "Look at that Forehead, you've even started to think the same." only to get a punch to the shoulder in reply.

 **"Once I believe you have sufficient maturity and skills, I'll get Jiraya-kun to teach you how to harness the power of the fox." Sarutobi told her.**

 **"I am skilled!" Naruko protested with a cute pout, "I learned the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"**

 **"Yes, an impressive feat, learning a B-Rank Kinjutsu in only two hours."**

Sakura latched onto this new piece of information. "Wait, the _Kage Bunshin_ is a Kinjutsu?"

Yuki nodded in return, "Yup, and is usually forbidden fro those with less than Jounin reserves to even learn, much less use. However Naruto has not only more chakra than the Hokage; his own Uzumaki heritage means that all of that chakra is dense enough that he can make more clones than anyone in history, having made around a thousand when he used it against Mizuki. The chakra cost aside, it also returns all of its memories back to the creator when they dispel along with any chakra they don't use. This means that while Naruto can use it to learn pretty much anything really quickly, he needs to be careful because he could kill himself if he dispels them too quickly. A thousand with only a couple of minutes at most seems to be ok, but any longer than that and you may need to dispel them two or three at a time Naruto." He said that last part while looking at the boy in question, "They also don't transfer any real muscle memory, but they will speed it up, so you can use them to train your Taijutsu, but anything physical you have to do yourself." He waited for the blonde to nod in agreement before going back to the story.

 **Sarutobi acknowledged, "The ease with which you infiltrated the Hokage Tower was equally impressive. I must ask you to write down how you did it. If you do, I'll pay you for the successful completion of a B-Rank infiltration mission, in addition to your A-Rank Mission of Retrieving the Forbidden Scroll of Seals."**

Naruto pouted, he never got that himself.

Yuki smirked, he could see Hiruzen smacking his head for forgetting to do that.

 **"Hell yeah!" Naruko cheered, "Two high ranking missions before I'm even out of the Academy! Beat that, Sasuke-teme!"**

Sakura and Ino shouted at Naruto "Baka! Why do you call Sasuke-kun that!"

Sasuke scowled at Naruto when he answered, "Because he treats everything as beneath him for the sole reason that he's an Uchiha! As if that makes him Kami's gift to Earth!"

Yuki chimed in, "Not to be a spoiler or anything, but an Uchiha was responsible for the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, so if anything they aren't all that they are cracked up to be."

Sakura and Ino scowled further at the new information, not liking that it didn't fit in with their world view.

 **"On the other hand," Sarutobi continued, "You are neither able to perform the basic _Bunshin no Jutsu_ ( _Clone Jutsu_ ) at all, nor can you use any genjutsu. Although the last is an unfortunate side affect of housing your tenant, the first is solvable."**

Yuki had to hold back his laughter at seeing the puppy dog eyes that Naruto had right when he heard that last part.

 **"Eh? How? That damn jutsu was the bane of my life!" Naruko asked, her eyes boring into her grandfatherly figure.**

 ** _'This must have been what I looked like when I asked Minato-kun how he finished his paperwork so quickly.'_ Sarutobi chuckled to himself.**

 **"Naruko-chan, please perform the _Bunshin no Jutsu_. If my suspicions are correct, I will be able to help you." He told the exited girl, who drooped slightly at the request.**

 **"Please don't laugh OK, Ji-chan?" she mumbled as she ran through the seals for the basic clone jutsu taught at the academy.**

 **" _Bunshin no Jutsu_!" she called as a puff of smoke appeared next to her, which revealed a sick and unhealthy looking clone of Naruko.**

 **Sarutobi nodded. "Just as I thought."**

"Wh-What?" Naruto asked, could... could there really be a solution?

 **"What? What is it-dattebayo?"**

 **"You are suffering the same problem the rest of the Uzumaki Clan suffered from; your chakra is so dense and powerful that attempting E and D-Rank Jutsu is incredibly difficult." Sarutobi explained, "I would suggest you use the same amount of chakra, but try to make as many clones as possible with that chakra."**

Naruto's eyes widened as he slowly slipped out of Hinata's grasp and walked over to an open space next to where they were reading. He went through the hand signs and shouted the technique, " _Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

The others watched in anticipation (except for Sasuke, who didn't care, and Neji, who still had a stick up his ass and figured the boy would still fail). Everyone but Yuki widened their eyes in shock as the smoke cleared, showing off the countless Naruto clones. This was followed by Hinata passing out from a nose bleed that rocketed her backwards into the couch's embrace. Ino was shocked like the others, however upon finding something wet on her lip and finding out she had a nosebleed as well, she quickly wiped away the blood to hide it. She didn't have feelings for the blonde, did she?

She must have been thinking of countless Sasukes... yeah... that's it...

 **"OK! Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruko called out again, this time filling the room with smoke. Once Sarutobi opened a window and dispersed the chakra smoke with an E-Rank Fūton jutsu, _Fūton: Soyokaze_ ( _Wind-Style: Gentle Breeze_ ), the entire room was covered in Naruko clones.**

 ** _'Just like Kushina.'_ Sarutobi thought with a smile as Naruko started dancing in celebration of vanquishing her nemesis.**

Naruto was busy doing the same thing, getting giggles from Hinata once she woke back up.

 **Sarutobi then dispelled the illusory clones with a small chakra pulse.**

 **"Naruko-chan, calm down please." Sarutobi called. Still grinning like a Cheshire cat, Naruko retook her seat.**

 **"Now, that was an example of a little creative thinking in dealing with an obstacle." Sarutobi informed Naruko, "Regrettably, the next problem will be harder to fix."**

 **Naruko's face fell slightly. "My Taijutsu." she whispered.**

Naruto's face fell as well as he sat back down on the couch. Hinata immediately took her spot in comforting her crush, forgetting how she must look as she rested her head on his shoulder.

 **"Yes." Sarutobi told her bluntly. "I was watching the clearing last night when you took care of Mizuki. It was full of openings and incorrect stances. Who taught you your taijutsu?"**

Naruto slumped down into his seat as the others looked at him "Mizuki~" mumbling out the answer.

 **Naruko looked down and fiddled with the hem of her jacket. "Mizuki-teme." she replied quietly.**

Getting the same answer from both the story and right next to them, some of the rookies began plotting revenge against the close-minded traitor.

 **Sarutobi sighed. So, not only had Mizuki tricked and mentally tormented Naruko, he had tried ensure that she would be killed on her first C-Rank mission due to poor close combat skills.**

This earned some scowls as the revenge for their fellow genin got more violent in their minds

 **Once again, Sarutobi made a note to have his two best interrogators educate Mizuki in why you do not piss off the Kami no Shinobi.**

The genin straightened in shock as Anko's cheer sounded from seemingly nowhere, actually being loud enough to breech the separation.

 **"Fortunately, I have decided that it is time for you to learn about your mother, Naruko-chan." Sarutobi told her, then braced for loud noises.**

Naruto was on the edge of his seat, looking hopeful and was ready to take in everything he could about his mother.

 **He wasn't disappointed there, as Naruko leapt to her feet and shrieked, "WHAT!" at the top of her voice. Given that her normal volume was just under a shout; her top volume was almost loud enough to be considered a high D-Rank Jutsu.**

That got a few chuckles from everyone while Naruto just blushed.

 **Wincing at the abuse his poor eardrums had just endured, Sarutobi attempted to calm Naruko down so he could explain everything to her.**

 **Ten minutes later, Sarutobi finally managed to get her calm and sitting in her seat again.**

 **"Now, this is your mothers file." Sarutobi gave the thin document into Naruko's trembling hands. She looked at it for a moment before taking a deep breath and opened it. She immediately noticed a very important fact about the file.**

 **"This is a Shinobi Registration File!" Naruko exclaimed. She looked at the rank section. "Jonin? My mother was a Jonin?"**

 **"Indeed." Sarutobi said. "Kushina was one of the few S-Rank Kunoichi this village has ever produced. She could give the Yondaime himself a hard time in a spar when he didn't use his _Hiraishin no Jutsu_ ( _Flying Thunder God Jutsu_ )."**

Everyone was shocked upon hearing just how strong Naruto's mother was.

 **"Kushina." Naruko said, testing the unfamiliar name warily, "Uzumaki Kushina…my mother." A smile grew on her face as she looked at the picture in the file. A smiling woman with blood-red hair and deep blue eyes looked back at her.**

Kushina's genin picture came up on the screen, Hinata leaned forward and gave Naruto a hug, lightly rubbing his opposite shoulder "you look just like her" Naruto just gave a nod, if it weren't for the eye color and hair, he could pass as his mother's male counterpart.

 **A small section caught Naruko's eye.**

 **Clan Status: _Yes._**

 **Village of Origin: _Uzushiogakure._**

 **"I'm from a Clan?" Naruko asked, "Wait, Ji-chan, you mentioned that I had the same problems as the Uzumaki Clan had…"**

Yuki held up his hand to stop the questions "It explains in the story."

 **"The Uzumaki were allies of Konoha for over fifty years." Sarutobi said, "They founded their own village on the Isle of Uzu not long after Konoha was founded and both villages prospered. The Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, even married an Uzumaki called Mito, who is your Great-Great Aunt I believe. All members of the Uzumaki Clan had immense stores of unusually dense chakra and had a lot of trouble with chakra control exercises as a result."**

 **Naruko smiled at her similarity to her Clan, and then frowned. "You said 'had'. What happened?"**

 **Sarutobi sighed. This was not going to be pretty.**

 **"At the start of the Third Great Shinobi War, Kirigakure, Iwagakure and Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on Uzushiogakure. Only those who were not within Uzushiogakure during the attack survived. I'm sorry Naruko-chan." Sarutobi said softly.**

 **Naruko's eyes dimmed. "My Clan…is gone? Wiped out?" She asked bleakly.**

Naruto sunk backward into the couch, tears dripping down his cheeks, everyone was saddened by this, even the ever detatched Sasuke looked on at Naruto in sympathy.

 **"I'm sorry to say so." Sarutobi confirmed. "However, the three attacking villages suffered horrendous casualties at the hands of the Uzumaki.**

Kiba whistled in appreciation and tried to lighten the mood "Man, imagine how much of a badass your clan must've been Naruto."

"Yea..." that certainly did cheer him up a bit.

 **Almost the entire village was related to the Uzumaki in some manner, so there were a lot of them. For every Uzumaki that fell, at least a dozen invaders fell at the same time. When the last sword was sheathed, a full three-quarters of the invading shinobi lay dead and dying among the ruins of Uzushiogakure. These casualties happened because Kiri, Iwa and Kumo gravely underestimated their foe and, in turn, these casualties, combined with the Yondaime Hokage's _Hiraishin no Jutsu_ allowed Konoha to emerge victorious."**

The room was silent for a second, Kiba's reaction of "Damn..." was all that was said. No other response was needed.

 **"So, my Clan's sacrifice was one of the cause of Konoha's victory?" Naruko questioned. Sarutobi nodded. "Then why haven't we heard any of this in class? I know I'm no Sakura-chan, but I think I would have remembered mention of my own surname during a lesson, and I think my friends would have mentioned it as well."**

This got everyone curious, History might have been a little more exciting if something like that was brought up.

 **Sarutobi smiled at her mention of friends. She had been friends with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's children for years and was friendly with the Hyuuga Heiress as well.**

Hinata looked rather hopeful at that last part.

 **He then frowned as the rest of what Naruko had said registered. What she said was true. He distinctly remembered adding the history of Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan to the syllabus personally after the end of the War that had all but destroyed the once proud Clan.**

This brought back the frowns as they realized how far the idiots in the village had gone to try and destroy Naruto, either physically, mentally or emotionally.

 **"That…is an excellent question Naruko-chan. I'll look into it." Sarutobi said slowly, "Anyway, the shinobi forces certainly remember the Uzumaki Clan. We wear the Clan Symbol as a mark of friendship and remembrance. The Shodaime integrated the symbol into the Konoha Leaf symbol so that the Uzumaki would be impossible to forget."**

 **Naruko grabbed the Uzumaki spiral that hung from her shoulder and held on to it tightly. After a moment, she whispered, "Arigato, Ji-chan."**

 **"The Uzumaki deserve all I have done for them and more." Sarutobi said sincerely, "The reason I bring your family up is because they have their own taijutsu style. Not to mention their own kenjutsu style and Clan jutsu.**

This definitely got Naruto's attention.

 **I had originally intended to wait until you were a Chunin to even tell you about your mother's family, but with what happened with Mizuki, I decided that you deserve to inherit this early."**

 **The young kunoichi's eyes were swimming with tears. "I…thank you, Ji-chan." she rasped.**

 **Sarutobi smiled gently as he got up and walked to a part of the wall that looked no different from the rest. His hands blurred as he hit sixteen points in a specific order in under ten seconds, causing a section of the wall to fall down, revealing a safe door. Placing his hand on the door, Sarutobi sent a pulse of his chakra through it. A series of clicks, clanks and whirring sounds came from within the door, which popped open.**

 **Naruko craned her neck to see into the safe. The only things in the safe were three boxes. One Red, one Yellow and one Orange. They were about half the length of the Forbidden Scroll. Sarutobi took the red and orange boxes out before closing the safe again.**

Shikamaru spoke up for the first time "so if Naruto's the orange one, and his mother's the red one, does that mean the yellow one is his father's?" This got everyone's attention as Yuki nodded in response.

 **Sarutobi handed Naruko the boxes. After attempting to juggle them for a minute, Naruko made a pair of Shadow Clones to hold them.**

 **"Don't open them until you're in your apartment." Sarutobi warned Naruko, who nodded. She knew that Clan Styles and Jutsu were protected by law, but most Ninja operated under the rule 'finder's keepers.'**

 **[BOOM!]**

Yuki smirked, he had used a sound effect at that part and it made all twelve of them jump in response. "What the heck/hell was that?!" came the simultaneous response from Ino and Tenten.

 **A massive explosion bloomed in the village, causing a startled Naruko to shield the Hokage and draw a kunai by instinct. After a moment, Naruko lowered her guard when no further explosions came.**

 **"ANBU!" Sarutobi called, prompting his four bodyguards to apparently teleport into the room. "Find out what and where that explosion was. Go!"**

 **The ANBU vanished in puffs of smoke.**

 **"I have got to learn how to do that." Naruko muttered to herself as she sheathed the kunai she had drawn.**

 **"Catch." Sarutobi said and tossed Naruko a standard sized scroll. "That has the basics of the _Shunshin no Jutsu_ ( _Body Flicker Jutsu_ ) on it. A reward for your quick reflexes."**

 **"YES!" Naruko cheered. She quickly deposited the scroll in one of her jackets many pockets. She jumped slightly as another ANBU appeared in a swirl of leaves.**

 **"Inu (Dog)." The Hokage greeted the ANBU with a terse nod.**

 **"Hokage-sama. The explosion originated at the building that Uzumaki-san used to live in. It is now merely rubble, with minor damage to the surrounding buildings and a few minor injuries to passing civilians." Inu reported briskly.**

Naruto slid off the couch and onto the floor. "No... my home..." he was rather unresponsive as Hinata moved onto his lap, her only thought were of conforting the distraught blonde.

 **"No…my home…" Naruko said hollowly, falling to her knees at the revelation that her home of seven years was gone.**

 **Sarutobi dismissed Inu and knelt next to Naruko. "Don't worry Naruko-chan. None of your stuff was in the house when it exploded."**

"Huh?" Naruto looked up with a bit of hope at Yuki as he read that line, what did that mean?

 **"Huh?" Naruko looked at the Hokage blankly.**

Yuki looked at Naruto, "I thought I was reading here..." Naruto blushed while the others were chuckling lightly.

 **"After you left this morning, ANBU operatives removed all of your possessions from the apartment and took it to your new residence." Sarutobi explained.**

 **"New…Huh?" Naruko said her expression puzzled.**

 **"When you defeated Mizuki, you defeated the last of the small, and relatively unknown, Toji Clan." Sarutobi explained, "That alone would have won you all of his ninja gear. Add in the fact he was about to become a nuke-nin after stealing the Scroll of Seals, and you won all he owned -including his house and any shares in businesses he had. It is your right as the member of a Clan to take possession of all he once owned."**

"Wha?" Naruto looked confused, as did most of the others

Yuki looked over to them "That's one of the main differences of this world we're reading compared to the one you're used to. I do believe that it will explain those laws in the story though."

 **"I…won his house?" Naruko said disbelievingly.**

 **"Indeed. I… {AHEM}…acted in advance of your knowledge of the laws because I thought it would make a nice graduation present." Sarutobi's face twisted sourly, "Now it's far more a necessity than anything else -meaning I still owe you a graduation present."**

 **Thinking for a minute, Sarutobi's face brightened. "Aha! I know what to give you!" Sarutobi stood, made five handsigns, drew some blood then slammed his hand on the floor.**

 **" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu- Saru Tan'ya: Enki_! ( _Summoning Jutsu- Monkey Blacksmith: Enki_!)" He shouted.**

 **A plume of chakra smoke appeared where the Hokage slammed his hand and cleared to reveal a white and brown monkey about Naruko's height, wearing a leather apron, gloves and an eye patch over his left eye. His upper body was bulging with muscles and had a no-nonsense air about him.**

 **"Sarutobi? Why have you summoned me?" the monkey asked in a rasping voice.**

 **"Enki. I would like the gauntlet if you please." Sarutobi said politely.**

This got some confused looks and a 'be patient' look from Yuki

 **The monkey made an odd sound that Naruko thought might be a laugh. "Why do you need that old thing?" he asked the Hokage, "It rejected you."**

 **"For Naruko-chan." The Hokage replied, indicating Naruko with a small gesture, "She just graduated from the Academy and I thought it would make an excellent gift."**

 **Enki looked Naruko up and down and snorted dismissively. "I doubt she has the reserves to even put the thing on, let alone use it."**

 **"Oi!" Naruko said, a tick mark appearing on her head, "I have so much chakra that I have to make hundreds of regular Bunshins in order for the damn jutsu to work. Whatever it is you're talking about, I can handle it-dattebayo!"**

 **The monkey raised his only visible eyebrow at the anger Naruko put in her voice. "You really shouldn't say that until you know what you're talking about, Kozō (Brat). The item Sarutobi wishes to give you doesn't work for people who do not have the right skills, chakra and mindset. It is my best creation, only one person in the last thirty years has worn the damn thing, and she died using it. Since then, no-one has been able to even put it on, even Sarutobi here."**

That got some raised eyebrows, given how thick the book was, that meant that Naruko succeeded in doing something not even the Hokage could do?

 **"I won't die until I become Hokage." Naruko said stubbornly, "So bring it on, Enki-san."**

 **Enki studied her for a moment before nodding. "OK, Kozō. But don't say I didn't warn ya." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.**

 **"Now we wait." Sarutobi told Naruko. He sat back down at his desk and fought his enemy once again while he waited. Naruko dispelled her clones as she now had to wait here for a while but still threw longing glances at the boxes that held her heritage.**

 **A puff of smoke signalled Enki's return. He was holding a box that was just over a foot long and half that wide. He placed it on the floor before him reverently and motioned Naruko to sit opposite him.**

 **"I swore twenty years ago that no-one beneath the rank of Jonin would ever even try to wear this gauntlet again." Enki said solemnly, "Now, I find myself breaking my word to myself."**

 **Enki removed the lid slowly to reveal one of the most beautiful things Naruko had ever seen. It was a gauntlet, similar to a samurai's, but far more ornamented. Made from finely wrought steel, it was covered infighting monkeys, with a snarling monkey head over the part that protected the back of the hand. Just behind where the wrist was, the armour was bronze and seemed to be able to rotate.**

The genin were in awe when the gauntlet's picture appeared on the screen.

 **"Behold." Enki whispered hoarsely, " _En'ō Kago-te_ ( _The Gauntlet of the Monkey King_ )."**

Yuki then looked up at the genin. "And that ends chapter one." Ignoring the outrage at the cliffhanger, he let everyone take a bathroom or snack break before they got settled in. "Now lets move on. Chapter 2: Team Assignment..."


	3. Chapter 2: Team assignments

**The only thing I own is the Crewger Family, they are my OCs and the only thing I will ever own in this story. I have express permission from the author "Seerking" to use his story "Uzumaki Naruko: To the Victor, the Spoils V2" for this reading so don't complain that I am stealing his story. This is as much a collaboration as any other normal story between two authors. With that said, lets begin.**

* * *

Naruto turned the page and began to read again " **Chapter 2: Team Assignments** "

 **The Next Day**

 **Council Chamber, Hokage Tower**

 **Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. Kami, these council meetings gave him more headaches that Naruko's pranks!**

Yuki nodded "and that's saying something." Naruto gave a nod of agreement, which drew the odd look from most of the others.

 **"For the last time, Uzumaki Naruko's graduation is permitted as a special exemption due to her mastering a B-Rank kinjutsu, stopping a traitor from fleeing with the Scroll of Seals and saving the life of her teacher from the traitor!" he shouted at the group of people seated to his left, the civilian part of the council.**

 **"But Hokage-sama, she's a demon!" a rather stupid councilman protested. The rest of the civilian council fell silent and edged away from the idiotic man. They all knew what was going to happen now.**

Yuki then paused and decided to make a random comment "Am I the only one that seems to think that the stupider the person in Konoha, the more they hate Naruto?"

This got a couple of hands to raise in agreement

 **Sarutobi glared at the man and unleashed his KI, making his target cower away from him and lose control of his bladder.**

 **"As everyone in this room is aware of Naruko's status as a Jinchūriki, I cannot have you executed." Sarutobi spoke in an angry whisper that echoed in the now-silent room, "However, if you ever dare refer to Naruko as a demon ever again in my presence, you shall join Mizuki in ANBU T &I's custody and suffer everything he has gone through at the hands of Mitarashi Anko and Morino Ibiki. AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"**

 **"H-Hai…Hokage-sama…." The now terrified man quavered.**

 **"Good." Sarutobi said in a more normal tone of voice. "You are excused from the council today as I believe you need to get a change of undergarments, among other things."**

This got chuckles and giggles from the genin.

 **The man glowed red with humiliation, but got up and squelched his way out of the council chamber.**

the laughter turned a bit green as the sound effect played over the television's speakers.

 **Sarutobi sighed and glanced around.**

 **"Does anyone else have a point to bring up about Naruko's graduation before we move onto the next topic?" he asked.**

 **"I do." said a man wearing black clothes and bandages and had his arm in a sling. Sarutobi sighed. He should have known.**

 **"No, Danzō. I will not let you turn Naruko into an emotionless killing machine." He told his old teammate.**

 **"It would be for the best, Hiruzen." Danzō insisted. "Give her to me, and I shall forge from her a weapon of unparalleled strength to protect Konoha."**

 **"I said no, Danzō. Do not push your luck." Sarutobi warned him, "Naruko is already absolutely loyal to Konoha and I will not allow you to destroy her emotions just because you feel they get in the way. Now drop it."**

 **"Very well Hiruzen, but I warn you that you will regret not taking my advice. She will go out of control and you will wish that you had listened to me." Danzō said genially.**

Naruto scowled "what's his problem?"

Yuki looked over at them to make sure he had their attention "first off, he has been stewing in rage over not being made the third hokage for a long time, and while he may claim to be doing everything he does 'for Konoha', that Konoha is one where he rules with an iron fist and not the current one. The only reason he wants to train Naruto is solely so he has a weapon to use against the Third Hokage and any of Konoha's enemies. What he fails to realize is that if you actually went through with the whole destroying your emotions thing, the seal would break almost immediately and release the Kyuubi, because if you remember, I had stated that its your will that keeps the other seals working, and if you trained under him, you would have no will."

Yuki then turned towards Sasuke "He's also at least partially responsible for the Uchiha massacre and he looted the corpses of many Uchiha afterwards for their Sharingan, getting them grafted onto that arm he keeps wrapped up." THAT got Sasuke's attention. "Also Sasuke, Danzo had attacked Shisui and stolen one of his Sharingan for the sole purpose for getting the Mangekyou he had, which would allow him to use the ultimate hypnotism genjutsu Kotoamatsukami. Drawing away from that, some sources state that Itachi didn't kill your mother, but your father did trying to get the Mangekyou for himself. But I have no idea if that last one is true or not."

Sasuke nodded and clenched his fist, his rage had a new target, and his adoration of his father had taken a major hit, as did the hatred of his brother, if only a little. He would find out what really happened that night...

 **Sarutobi gave his old friend a hard look before asking once again if anyone had anything further to add about Naruko before moving on tot the next item on the agenda.**

 **"No-one? Good. The next item is the proposal I made in which the new genin teams, once they have been passed by their Jonin-sensei of course, will be moved into the same apartment and learn to live together. Opinions?"**

 **"What's the point?" asked a civilian, "I mean, why bother to move them out of their parents homes when they're only twelve?"**

 **Sarutobi was surprised at such a stupid question, then he remembered this was a civilian he was talking to.**

 **"Firstly, although newly graduated genin are only twelve or thirteen, once they receive their hitai-ate, they are considered adults in the eyes of the village as you should be well aware, Satoshi-san." Sarutobi said looking pointedly at the man who had asked the question.**

Tenten decided to voice her opinion "Why were people this stupid even on the council?"

Yuki responded in kind "Well there are various theories, some think that they are technically the best for the position... which just makes the rest sound even worse. The other is that they bribe and blackmail others to keep their position, proving just how corrupt they actually are."

 **"Secondly, I believe that it should help improve teamwork. Living together and working together should help the teams bond more quickly and thus raise the speed of their on-the-job efficiency. Third, having to pay for utilities out of their mission pay and standard genin pay will teach them a sense of responsibility and maturity that will be needed on C-Rank and above missions, not to mention the Chunin Selection Exams." Sarutobi finished his explanation and looked around to see the council's reaction.**

 **The Ninja side was nodding approvingly. Except Nara Shikaku, but that was just because he was asleep as always.**

That got some snickers from everyone but Shikamaru, who looked a bit peeved at his father for that.

 **The advisors, Koharu and Homura, were also nodding in approval. Danzō looked Sarutobi in the eye and shrugged indifferently. The civilian side was having a whispered debate that seemed to be leaning towards accepting the proposal.**

 **"Does the council feel that a decision can be reached today?" Sarutobi enquired. Seeing a majority of them agree, the aged Hokage said, "Very well. All those in favour of the proposal, raise your hands."**

 **The vast majority of the room raise their hands, drawing dirty looks from a couple of civilians.**

 **"All those against?" A small group of stubborn civilians raised their hands.**

 **"The proposal is accepted by the majority." Sarutobi declared, "Starting with this graduating class, the Genin Housing Act is in force."**

 **The meeting continued after that, with nothing of interest coming up. After it ended, Sarutobi was surprised to see the Ino-Shika-Chō, Hyūga Hiashi as well as Councilwoman Haruno in his office.**

 **"This is an unsurprising gathering that I should have anticipated." Sarutobi mused aloud, "Might I assume your children have something to do with it?"**

 **"Ino was very…insistent on finding out what happened to Naruko." Yamanaka Inoichi said dryly.**

"Of course I would." Ino said with a huff, as if daring anyone to doubt her.

 **"My troublesome son set my wife on me when I said it was too troublesome to find out." Shikaku groused.**

Shikamaru smirked at finally getting back at his father for something.

 **"Chōji was wondering why Naruko never showed up to their weekly Ramen eating contest." Akimichi Chōza said.**

Choji gave a nod as he ate some of his chips.

 **"My daughter heard about Naruko-chan's house being blown up and was concerned." Haruno Megumi added.**

Naruto gave a soft smile to Sakura "Thanks Sakura-chan..." Sakura gave him the same smile back _'maybe Naruto isn't that bad...'_

 **"My eldest was so worried about Naruko that she forgot to hold back against Hanabi and defeated her soundly." Hiashi said, a hint of pride in his voice.**

Hinata was surprised at how warmly her father was sounding there.

 **Sarutobi sealed the room with a couple of well-placed seals. Before speaking. "What is said here is to be kept absolutely confidential. Understood?" he said firmly looking at each person and getting a nod.**

 **"Naruko's apartment building was destroyed by a large number of explosive tags placed at key structural locations to ensure both the collapse of the building and the death of anyone in the top floor…"**

 **"….Where Naruko's apartment was located." Shikaku finished in a drawling tone. "Troublesome. So that means that at least one shinobi is in on it."**

That earned the return of the scowls, they were not liking how far they were going to try and kill Naruko like that.

 **"The ANBU who investigated the scene reported that an estimate of at least 500 Explosive Tags were used to destroy the building,**

That got a shout of surprise from Tenten. She gave the impression that if it wasn't for the fact it was used in a murder attempt, she would have complained about how much of a waste it was.

 **far more than was needed considering it was teetering on the verge of being condemned due to lack of necessary maintenance. A hundred would have been more than enough." Sarutobi added.**

 **"That…is a lot of explosive tags." Inoichi remarked, "I don't think that Konoha has had that many tags in reserve since the death of the Yondaime."**

 **"We don't." the Sandaime stated. "We have barely 150 tags in reserve, and only about thirty are made a month from an old man who is of only passable skill. From the remains of a few of the tags, we have determined that only a few were his work, with the rest being either the Yondaime's work or fairly amateurish homemade attempts. I have also looked had the reserves checked and they are untouched. Therefore, I then turned to the only shop in Konoha that sells them. According to their records, ANBU buys ten a month, with various Jonin and Chunin buying most of the others. Interestingly enough, one person has bought about five to seven a month since the stores the Yondaime made were emptied, in addition to purchasing fifty a month from the Yondaime's stores since the Yondaime's death."**

 **"Who was it?" Megumi asked.**

 **"Yamanaka Haruo." The Sandaime said. Inoichi looked sick.**

Ino paled upon hearing that the one in question was a member of her family.

 **"That…is unsurprising." Inoichi said faintly, "his mother was the only Yamanaka to die on the Day of the Kyūbi."**

 **"Yes, although strangely enough, he has not been seen near Naruko-chan's building at all in the past seven years since she moved there." Sarutobi said with a frown, "This leads me to conclude he had accomplices. I have assigned a pair of ANBU to shadow him, as well as questioning Naruko's ANBU watchers to list everyone who entered Naruko's old home and how frequently. It did not take a single hour to set those tags and I will find out who did it."**

 **"Speaking of Naruko, where is she?" Chōza asked.**

 **Sarutobi smirked. "Oh, she's getting settled into her new house."**

* * *

 **Same Time**

 **The Former Toji Clan Home, Clan Residential District**

 **"Sheesh, this place is cool and everything, but it's filthy!" Naruko muttered as she scrubbed the wooden floor with a cloth. She generally wasn't a neat freak, but according what to her Ji-chan had told her when he brought her here last night, the Toji Clan had been reduced to a single family during the Third Great War, who had then moved into the main Ninja residential District.**

"Wait. that teme was a member of a clan?" Naruto asked with an incredulous tone.

Yuki gave a shake of the hand, indicating the iffy answer "sometimes, generally though he's seen as from a solo family, mainly because nobody really knows what his last name is."

Some of the others went to speak up on the former teacher's name, however they all stopped when they realized they didn't know his family name was.

 **Mizuki-teme had been the only one to survive the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha and he had lived in the Academy barracks, so the place hadn't been lived in for at least twenty years and was in desperate need of a good clean.**

 **"ARRRGGHH!" Naruko threw the cloth down in frustration. "I've been at this for over five hours and barely scratched the surface! I haven't even had a chance to look at my family's scrolls! I need help!"**

 **Suddenly an idea popped into her head and she made the Clone Handsign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she called and summoned thirty exact copies of herself.**

Everyone looked at Naruto, mostly with a deadpan. Leave it to Naruto to use a high level jutsu for chores.

 **"Alright Ladies!" Naruko said putting her hands on her hips, "We have a house to clean and it isn't going to clean itself. Split up and clean this place until it goes *ping*! Start in the living quarters and work your way to the rest of the compound!"**

 **"Yes ma'am!" her doppelgangers chorused before splitting up and spreading throughout the house. Naruko grinned to herself. This jutsu was sooo useful.**

Now everyone was jealous. Stupid chakra requirement...

 **That thought actually stopped her for a moment. 'Come to think of it, this Jutsu was in the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. There should be a reason for that. I'll ask Ji-chan when he comes to visit this afternoon.'**

Everyone just deadpanned at Naruto again, making him squirm in his seat. It was just like the boy to not read through simple instructions.

 **Shaking her head slightly, Naruko wandered into the living room that she had cleaned over an hour ago and sat down on the sofa with a sigh. A metallic clinking noise drew her attention to the gauntlet she now wore on her right arm.**

 **Raising her arm, she admired the way the light shone on the metal as she remembered what had happened in the Hokage's office the previous day.**

 **{Flashback}**

 ** _"En'ō Kago-te?" Naruko breathed, entranced by the beautiful gauntlet._**

 ** _"Yes." Enki said solemnly, "As I said, my finest work. I am one of the two Master Blacksmiths of the Monkey Clan. I forge armour, my counterpart forges weapons. I created this gauntlet for King Enma, the Monkey King, as a tithe of sorts."_**

 ** _"Tithe?" Naruko asked, baffled._**

 ** _"Something similar to a tax." Sarutobi simplified for her._**

 ** _"Indeed." Enki agreed, "However, King Enma couldn't wear it, as it required far too much chakra for him to do so."_**

 ** _"Enma is my personal summon, Naruko-chan." Sarutobi explained, seeing her incomprehension, "He is the Boss Summon of the Monkey Clan, therefore the most powerful of them all."_**

 ** _Naruko's eyes widened. "Someone on the same level as Yondaime-sama's summon Gamabunta wasn't able to wear this gauntlet?" she asked in awe._**

Sakura looked crossed between in awe and incredulous "and yet, Naruko could? Just how much chakra do you have Naruto?"

Both Naruto and Yuki just smiled and smirked in reply.

 _ **Enki snorted. "Enma-sama is far older and more experienced than Gamabunta. He whipped all the summons of the Sannin, Gamabunta, Katsuya and Manda, at the same time during a sparring session."**_

The genin had heard how big and strong the three Sannin's summons were, and hearing this monkey say that Enma has the ability to beat all three of them at the same time... They had a lot of respect for the Monkey King after that.

 _ **Naruko's eyes widened further. Sarutobi grinned. "Let's bring him here so we can see his reaction when Naruko-chan here does what he could not." Enki recoiled, but nodded in acquiescence.**_

 _ **Sarutobi weaved the summoning jutsu's handsigns again. "Kuchiyose: Enkōō: Enma! (Summoning: Monkey King: Enma!)"**_

 _ **In a puff of smoke, a man-sized monkey wearing a tiger skin kimono, a black shinobi suit and a Konoha Hitai-ate. He had white fur all over his body and had a long goatee and sideburns.**_

Seeing how small the Monkey King was... and he was still able to beat three boss summons? That definitely earned some Badass points from the boys.

 _ **"Hiruzen? Why have you summoned me when there is no battle or training to be done?" Enma asked after looking around for a moment.**_

 _ **"Enma." Sarutobi greeted his summon genially, "I brought you here to see an end to our little wager." he gestured to the open box and the gaping Naruko.**_

 _ **"That thing?" Enma snorted, "There is no way that she can wear it, even is she does have the Kyūbi sealed inside her."**_

 _ **Naruko recoiled. "How…?"**_

 _ **"Enma and I arrived just as the Yondaime sealed the fox into you." Sarutobi replied, "Don't worry. Enma is very knowledgeable about the Ninja Arts, and beasts of similar power to the Kyūbi have been sealed away before."**_

 _ **"Those villagers still don't know the difference between a scroll and the kunai that's sealed in it?" Enma asked. At a single nod from Sarutobi, Enma snorted again and muttered something under his breath before turning to Naruko.**_

 _ **"Kid, I have nothing against you. You were barely an hour old when the damn fox was sealed into you and the Yondaime would not have picked you if he did not think you could handle it. Ignore the villagers and trust what Sarutobi here says. He knows you, they don't." Enma told the girl bluntly.**_

 _ **"A-arigato, Enma-sama." Naruko said softly. Then she cocked her head to the side and looked at Enma for a moment.**_

Naruto looked at the screen, squinting as he muttered out loud "ya know... he looks kinda familiar..."

 _ **"I could swear that I've seen you before, Enma-sama, but I can't think where." she confessed with a small frown.**_

 _ **"Heh. Remember me? Hardly surprising." Enma chuckled, "Hiruzen summoned me to guard you when you were still a baby and he had to go off to a council meeting. Some idiot chunin tried to kill you and I took care of him. I would guard you when Hiruzen here was out of the village, discreetly, right up until you were about five. You probably caught glimpses of me and that's why you recognise me a bit."**_

Naruto hit his fist into his palm in realization "Oh! so that's where I've seen him before..."

That got some panicked looks from the others. _'He's been attacked even as a baby? and he acts like its an everyday thing?!'_

 ** _Naruko bowed at Enma. "Thank you for guarding me, Enma-sama."_**

"Wow," Kiba joked "I don't think I've ever heard that much respect coming from you Naruto, except for maybe your 'Ramen-sama'." He snarked at the end, getting a couple of chuckles and a blushing Naruto.

 _ **"Just doing my job, kid. Besides, those who attack younglings are scum and need to be removed from the world. Remember this." Enma replied.**_

 _ **"Hai." Naruko nodded. Enki, who had been silent until now, cleared his throat.**_

 _ **"Ahem. Naruko-san, if you still wish to attempt this, please say so." He said in a formal tone that sounded weird in his rasping voice.**_

 _ **Taking her cue from him, Naruko straightened slightly and said, "I wish to proceed."**_

 _ **Enki nodded and tapped the En'ō Kago-te in three different places: the rearmost plate, the section that seemed to be able to revolve and the snarling ape's mouth. Where he touched, small holes opened up.**_

 _ **"Now, take a kunai and put a drop of blood into each hole." Enki directed. Shrugging, Naruko did so. As she dripped a drop into each hole, it closed up. Once the last hole was closed, the gauntlet began to glow a faint blue.**_

 _ **"What's happening?" Naruko asked.**_

 _ **"The gauntlet is judging your worthiness." Enma replied, "I made it past this stage, but failed the next one."**_

 _ **"How can you tell that it accepts you?" the blond kunoichi asked.**_

 _ **[Snick!]**_

 _ **Everyone looked at the gauntlet as the lower half snapped open.**_

 _ **"It does that." Enki replied in perfect deadpan,** _

Yuki muttered to himself "Smartass..."

 ** _gesturing at the gauntlet, "Now you must simply put it on."_**

 ** _"What'll it do then?" Naruko asked warily, not forgetting that this gauntlet had killed someone who was unworthy to wield it._**

 ** _"Drain you of your chakra." Enki stated bluntly, "You see, the En'ō Kago-te is technically an incomplete device at the moment. Until someone gives it sufficient chakra in a single sitting, it will never be complete."_**

 ** _"Why a single sitting?" Sarutobi asked._**

 ** _"That's how it turned out." Enki replied, "I have since adjusted my methods to ensure this doesn't happen, but none since have had the potential that this one has."_**

 ** _Naruko took a breath, released it then picked up the gauntlet._**

 ** _"Make sure you put it on your dominant arm." Enki warned._**

 ** _Nodding, Naruko carefully fitted the En'ō Kago-te to her right arm._**

 ** _[Snick!]_**

 ** _The gauntlet closed around her arm and glowed red, then green, then a deep blue._**

 _ **"Is it…shrinking?" Sarutobi asked curiously.**_

"Wait what?" some of the group sputtered out upon hearing that.

 _ **Yuki simply smirked "Seals can do anything given you have the right combination of symbols."**_

 _ **The gauntlet was indeed shrinking to the right size for Naruko's arm.**_

 _ **"It did the same for me." Enma noted, "Naruko, when you feel a sudden drain of your chakra, make the Ram Handsign and move chakra into your right arm. Not a lot, just maintain a slow, steady stream."**_

 _ **"Right." Naruko nodded. A minute passed then Naruko stiffened and then made the Ram handsign.**_

 _ **"D-Damn…this is more chakra…than I've ever used before!" Naruko grunted, sweat beading her brow with the effort.**_

 _ **Abruptly, an ANBU appeared in the room, a hand on his ninjatō.**_

 _ **"Hokage-sama, I detected an immense build-up of chakra here…" he said.**_

 _ **"It is of no importance." Sarutobi told the ANBU, "Everything is under control. Return to your post."**_

 _ **The ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves.**_

 _ **"How long…do I have to maintain this…for?" Naruko asked, returning everyone's attention to the struggling kunoichi.**_

 _ **"The process should be complete when the monkey engravings on the sides all turn from chakra metal to adamantine." Enki replied.**_

 _ **Looking at the gauntlet closely, the watchers could see that the first two monkeys had changed from the bright shiny grey of the steel-like chakra metal to a hard matt-black metal.**_

 _ **"So…two down, ten to go?" Naruko asked, getting a nod in return.**_

 _ **Over the next half hour, nine of the ten remaining monkeys turned to adamantine.**_

 _ **"Impressive." Enma noted, "I was only able to get to seven and a half."**_

 _ **"T-This last o-one…is more draining than the…others." Naruko gasped out, "It's…almost like it's fighting me."**_

 ** _Enki frowned, then realisation lit his face. "Naruko, it's the chakra of the others who have attempted to wear En'ō Kago-te, it's fighting you. If you fully claim possession of it, the chakra of those who came before you will cease to be."_**

 ** _"EH!" Naruko looked at him, startled. "But…what about the person who died with this thing on? W-what if it's a g-ghost?"_**

Naruto started to shake "Gh-Gh-Gh-Ghost?!"

Ino looked to her fellow blonde "Your afraid of ghosts?" she looked like she wanted to tease him over this.

Naruto nodded shakily "Y-Yeah! I mean you can't hit them, but they can hit and curse you... how do you fight that?"

Ino ran that information around in her mind, that was a decent rationalization for Phasmophobia.

 _ **Sweatdrops appeared on every person (or ape) watching the kunoichi.**_

 _ **"Naruko, we've been over this before." Sarutobi said patiently, "There are no such things as ghosts. What is fighting against you now is just chakra. Increase the rate of flow to your arm and it should be over soon."**_

 _ **"R-right." Naruko focussed again and the watching shinobi and blacksmith could feel the flow of chakra become more rapid and so slowly, surely but relentlessly, the last monkey turned into adamantine.**_

 _ **A long, drawn out monkey howl emerged from the gauntlet as it began glowing a bright and vibrant blue that increased in intensity until no one could look at it.**_

 _ **Then suddenly, the light was gone and the occupants of the room could see once more. Naruko looked at the En'ō Kago-te and saw that the snarling face on the front was also adamantine.**_

 _ **"You…you actually did it." Enki said, disbelief plain on his face, "The last person who wore that was an experienced jonin and yet you managed to-"**_

 _ **"Who was she anyway, the last person to wear this gauntlet?" Naruko asked, tapping the gauntlet with a finger.**_

 _ **"Her name was Sarutobi Miwa." the Sandaime said softly, "She was a remarkable young woman, with considerable promise as a kunoichi."**_

 _ **"I'll remember her." Naruko promised. Sarutobi chuckled softly as he caught sight of one part of the gauntlet.**_

 _ **"By the looks of things, whoever receives the En'ō Kago-te after you will know you as well."**_

 _ **Naruko sent a questioning look at Sarutobi, who pointed at the underside of the gauntlet. When Naruko looked, there were two sets of kanji engraved along the length of the gauntlet. One was 炎鬼 (Enki), the other was うずまきナル子 (Uzumaki Naruko).**_

 _ **"Not entirely unexpected." Enma said with an amused look on his face at Naruko's stunned disbelief, " You did help create it after all."**_

 _ **"But-" Naruko tried to protest, but was interrupted by Enki.**_

 _ **"Kozō, I may have forged the thing, but it was your chakra that gave life to it." Enki held out a hand, "Nice working with you."**_

 _ **Naruko shook hands on automatic, still stunned at having her name on an artefact that took so much of her chakra.**_

 _ **"Man, I am exhausted." She commented as she let go of Enki's hand and sat down, visibly tired.**_

 _ **"Naruko-chan, exactly how much chakra did you use?" Sarutobi asked curiously.**_

 _ **The blond kunoichi shrugged. "Dunno. A lot of it, I guess. Never felt chakra exhaustion, but from what I remember Iruka-sensei saying about how it feels, I've come pretty close to it just now."**_

 _ **Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this. Naruko had far more chakra than he himself did and she had come close to chakra exhaustion?**_

Once again, everyone was taken back by just how much chakra Naruto had.

 _ **Naruko turned to Enki. "So, what the heck can this thing do anyway? If it needed so much chakra, it must do some cool stuff."**_

 _ **"That can wait until tomorrow, Naruko-chan. We have to go about finding a place for you to sleep tonight." Sarutobi interjected.**_

 _ **"Sounds fair to me." Enki said gruffly. "This girl needs to lie down before she falls down. Same time tomorrow, Sarutobi?"**_

 _ **"Three days from now." Sarutobi corrected him. "Naruko will be recuperating and getting her team assignment tomorrow and the real genin test the day afterwards."**_

 _ **Enma nodded. "Summon me as well Hiruzen. I have a part to play in this too."**_

 _ **After Sarutobi agreed, the two summons bade Naruko farewell and disappeared back to their realm in two puffs of smoke.**_

 **{Flashback End}**

 **Naruko was jolted out of her thoughts by the sensation of one of her clones dispersing.**

 **"Ji-chan's early." she muttered as she got up to meet her Kage.**

 **"Ah, Naruko-chan." Sarutobi called as he walked down the now pristine hallway, "I believe I told you last night to take it easy."**

 **Naruko scratched the back of her head nervously. "I am Ji-chan! I only made thirty clones!"**

 ** _'Only thirty' she says. In my prime, I could make that many…before passing out!'_ Sarutobi thought wryly.**

 **"Fair enough." he allowed, "Anyway, it's almost time for team assignments, so get cleaned up."**

 **"Damn!" Naruko yelped as she ran off.**

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "Ah, to be that energetic again…"**

* * *

 **A Short While Later**

 **Naruko's Classroom, Konoha Ninja Academy**

"About time!" Kiba half shouted as he threw his arms into the air "I thought it would never get to us."

 **"Ino-pig, get away from Sasuke-kun!" shouted a pink-haired girl wearing a red battle-dress.**

 **"Tch. You first Forehead-girl!" replied a platinum blond wearing a purple top and skirt, bandages and cream arm-warmers.**

 **The two girls were standing next to an empty seat that was in turn next to a raven-haired boy with onyx eyes wearing a blue top, white shorts and cream arm-warmers. The boy currently had a large tick mark on his forehead at the noise the two squabbling girls were making so near his ears.**

 **"Don't those two ever get tired of that?" asked a rotund boy as he opened a bag of potato snacks. His companion, a pineapple-haired boy who had his head on the desk, turned his head slightly to look at his friend.**

 **"Women are too troublesome for words, Chōji." he replied.**

"Shikamaru!" "Other me! Other me!"

 **At the back of the room, a blue haired girl in a bulky white coat looked at an empty seat with a tinge of sadness in her lavender eyes.**

 **'Naruko-chan…' she thought sadly.**

Naruto looked at Hinata in surprise, she looked up at him and realizing how close they were, blushed brightly. However in a bold show of backbone, she remained holding onto his arm without fainting.

 **Nearby, a boy with brown hair and wearing a large olive-green coat sat silently ignoring his classmates.**

 **In the front row, a boy with facial tattoos resembling fangs and wearing a grey coat with a hood was playing with a small white puppy.**

 **It was into this chaos that Iruka walked as he entered the room. Walking slowly, he made his way to the teacher's podium, he noted all of this classes usual idiosyncratic oddities with a small sigh.**

 **Flipping through three handsigns, he used his _Ninpo: Onigashira no Jutsu_ ( _Ninja Art: Demon Head Jutsu_ ) to make his head seemingly swell up to three times its normal size and increase his voice volume by a large amount as well.**

"So that IS a jutsu..." Naruto muttered, he had always wondered about that. Thinking on it made him shiver.

 **"SIT DOWN NOW!" he roared, causing the entire class to come to order at last.**

 **Wincing slightly from the pain coming from the wound Mizuki gave him, Iruka looked at the class and was about to speak when the door slammed open.**

 **"Sorry I'm late!" Naruko yelled as she barrelled into the classroom.**

 **"Ah, Naruko." Iruka said with a smile. "Settling in ok?"**

 **"Yeah, but the place is filthy. I've got a lot of work to do when I get back." Naruko grumbled.**

 **"Oi, dobe! Why are you here, this is a graduates only class!" The boy with the puppy jeered.**

Looking back on it, Kiba moaned at his own stupidity and slumped forward, his face sinking into his hands.

 **"Use your eyes for a change Kiba." Naruko snapped back and pointed at the hitai-ate on her forehead, "Ji-chan will explain everything when he gets here."**

 **"Alright Naruko, take your seat." Iruka told her. She grinned at him and walked over to her usual seat.**

 **Iruka then launched into a speech about how proud he was of them and the expectations that now befell them as ninja. Naruko sighed and crossed her legs, bored by this.**

 **Once Iruka-sensei finished his speech, the Third Hokage entered and looked at them sternly.**

 **"I'm certain that some of you are wondering why Toji Mizuki is not here." He said gravely, "I'm afraid Mizuki is under arrest for the attempted theft of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, Assault on a fellow Konoha Shinobi and breaking an S-Rank law."**

"Wait." Sakura spoke up "What law?"

Yuki looked over to her "Shortly after Naruto was born, the Third passed a law that prevented those who already know about Naruto's Jinchuuriki status from telling those who didn't know, under the pain of death. This was to let Naruto hopefully have a normal childhood and hopfully let him make friends. You can see how that turned out. And to answer the question you are probably thinking up, a Jinchuuriki means 'Power of Human Sacrifice' and is the title given to those that have one of the nine Biju sealed inside of them."

 **A flurry of whispers erupt from the new genin, barring the Uchiha and the Aburame. Sarutobi waited for the noise to die down before speaking again.**

 **"As a result of the confrontation, Uzumaki Naruko was give a special dispensation to be given the rank of genin. I ask that you do not pressure her for details as she is still somewhat exhausted from the confrontation."**

 **"Ji-chan!" Naruko yelps in protest.**

 **"It's true, Naruko." Sarutobi told her firmly, "In fact, once you've met with your Jonin-sensei, I want you to go straight home, alright?"**

 **"Hai, Ji-chan." Naruko said, giving in to her grandfather-figure's demand.**

 **"Good." Sarutobi nodded firmly. Turning his attention back to the rest of the genin, the Hokage unfurled a scroll and began reading out the teams. Naruko ignored teams one through six because they were all civilian-born genin, including that bitch Ami, who had made Naruko's life miserable when she was younger.**

 **"…Team Seven shall be comprised of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Inuzuka Kiba, with Hatake Kakashi as the Jonin-sensei." Sarutobi announced.**

The younger members of the Rookie 12 (Namely the members of teams 7, 8, and 10 that actually care.) blinked in surprise, with Choji being the one to break the silence "Well that's new."

 **"Shannaro! Eat that Ino-pig! True love conquers all!" Sakura yelled in victory.**

"Well at least that isn't new." Ino ribbed

 **"Why am I with the broody Emo and the pink banshee?" yelled Kiba.**

 **"…Hn." Sasuke grunted dismissively.**

Naruto snarked as he looked at Sasuke "Once again, such riveting conversations you must have, Sasuke."

All he got was a glare in response.

 **"Team Eight shall be comprised of Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruko and Hyuuga Hinata, with Yūhi Kurenai as the Jonin-sensei." The Hokage continued, ignoring the two loud outbursts.**

 **"Well I suppose it could be worse." Ino muttered.**

 **{THUNK} Hinata fainted with joy.**

 **"Nice!" Naruko grinned.**

Everyone was confused with that, an all Kunoichi team?

 **"Team Nine is still in circulation from last year….Team Ten shall be comprised of Aburame Shino, Akamichi Chōji and Nara Shikamaru, with Sarutobi Asuma as the Jonin-sensei." Sarutobi finished and tucked the scroll away in his robe.**

And an all Shinobi team? Yuki spoke up "Don't worry, it explains in the story."

 **"….Troublesome." muttered Shikamaru.**

 **"…" Shino merely remained silent.**

 **" *Munch-much* At least Shika's with me." Chōji said as he feasted on his snacks.**

 **"After lunch, your Jonin-sensei will pick you up. Except Team Seven's sensei, he will be three hours late." Sarutobi told them.**

 **"Why?" asked Sakura, curiously.**

 **"Because he feels like it." was the blunt response, causing Team Seven to sweatdrop.**

As did everyone listening.

 **Sarutobi coughed slightly. "Anyway, we will now break for lunch. Make sure not to be late for your meeting with your Jonin-sensei." With that, the Hokage disappeared in a puff of smoke.**

 **As the majority of the students made their way out of the classroom, Hinata finally woke up.**

 **"A-Ano…What happened?" she asked Ino who had walked over to her.**

 **"You found out Naruko-chan was on your team and passed out." Ino replied as she helped her new teammate to her feet.**

 **"Ino-chan! Hinata-chan!" Naruko called from the door, "Let's go to Ichiraku's for lunch! My treat!"**

 **"Coming!" Ino called.**

 **Running to catch up with Naruko, Ino and Hinata missed the blond haired man glaring at them from outside the window.**

"And that's the end of that chapter."

Choji spoke up "But who was that guy looking into the window at the end?"

Yuki flipped the page to the next chatper "You'll have to wait and find out, it covers it in the next chapter. Chapter 3: Genin Test Invaded."


	4. Chapter 3: Genin Test Invaded

**The only thing I own is the Crewger Family, they are my OCs and the only thing I will ever own in this story. I have express permission from the author "Seerking" to use his story "Uzumaki Naruko: To the Victor, the Spoils V2" for this reading so don't complain that I am stealing his story. This is as much a collaboration as any other normal story between two authors. With that said, lets begin.**

* * *

Naruto turned the page and began to read again " **Chapter 3: Genin Test Invaded** "

That caused most of the Genin to become rather nervous. They didn't like the sound of being attacked during their Genin test...

Well, unless it was their sensei, but that was kinda the point of the thing to begin with.

 **Streets of Konoha**

 **Yamanaka Haruo glared at the demon bitch as she led his Clan's Heiress as well as the Hyūga Heiress down the street. How had she survived the blast that had levelled her building? Was she immortal or something?**

Kiba was confused "What... did they just set it on a timer or something? How did they not know that she wasn't in the building when it blew up?"

Yuki just snorted "Some people, no matter the rank, just seem to lack common sense altogether."

 **He was careful to keep out of sight and far enough back that the Hyūga girl could not see him even if she activated her Kekkei Genkai as he leapt across the roofs as he followed his quarry.**

Yuki muttered to himself "As if he even knew her range..." This got a couple people's attentions, so he explained himself "While its never really said, most world has Hinata's Byakugan as... not being the most precise up close, but instead has one of the largest ranges out of her clan, and probably on record." He turned to blushing heiress. She was still not used to so much praise after all "From what I've seen out there, she would do exceedingly well with a bow and arrow, although the trick would be to figure out a way for her to make chakra arrows." THAT got the girl's attention, Yuki could see that she was giving it some thought.

Over with the clan heads, Hiashi had the most interesting expression when he was told the same, like he was internally ramming his head into the desk while trying not to look like it on the outside.

 **He had been thirteen when the Kyūbi had attacked. He had been off duty and spending time with his mother, Hanako, when the immense beast had broken through the outer wall and started laying waste to the village. His mother had used the family jutsu, Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind-Body Switch Jutsu), on the beast and had had her mind shredded into nothing by the beast. Her body had not lasted a day after the death of her mind.**

 **When Haruo had heard that the fox was sealed in a baby, he knew that the child's mind had been lost to the fox's own powerful mind. After all, seal or no seal, if a Yamanaka, who specialised in mental assaults and defence, could not withstand the demon, what chance could a mere child have?**

That got everyone's attention as they turned to Yuki for an explanation.

"He doesn't understand seals, if he did, he'd know that when something is sealed, it is kept separate. That includes mind body and soul. There's a kid over in Suna that has the one tailed Biju sealed inside of him with absolutely nothing separating their minds, and his is still readily intact. Unless Naruto tries to delve into the Kyuubi's mind directly, there's no chance that the same would happen to him."

 **Therefore, he had prepared to slay the demon, as he felt the Yondaime had intended to happen and in the name of vengeance for his mother.**

"Considering the Yondaime's last wishes were for Naruto to be treated as a hero? Yeah, stupid..."

 **A number of attempts were made to kill the demon by Haruo using his Shintenshin no Jutsu on Clanless shinobi in the weeks following the Day of The Kyūbi. All of them were ones who had lost loved ones in the attack and were mad with grief and rage at the Kyūbi. Because of that fact, they were not scanned by his own clan when the ANBU caught them. When the Third Hokage placed the demon in the orphanage, he was always under the constant guard of ANBU. Haruo had realised that now was not the time and had bided his time gathering the tools for the plan he had laid out.**

 **When the Orphanage had thrown the demon out for the last time, the Third had arranged an apartment for it, which had prompted everyone else in the building, including the owner, to abandon it like rats from a sinking ship.**

 **Exactly as Haruo had anticipated.**

Naruto scowled and muttered to himself "Jerk..."

A sentiment that seemed to be shared by most of the others.

 **He had gathered a group of like-minded individuals and enacted his plan. In ones and twos, they had infiltrated the building and placed exploding tags in key areas of the structure so that, when detonated, the demon would die, either from being crushed to death or from the initial blasts.**

 **It had not been quick or easy to do. A 'friend' of his was a Hyūga who was an amateur Seal Master.**

Neji's seemingly permanent scowl deepened, he didn't like the idea that a Hyuga would be stupid enough to get involved.

 **He had made a fair number of the tags. Unfortunately, only one tag in five actually worked, so they had to use far more than was actually needed, just to be on the safe side. In addition, ANBU watched the dilapidated building where the demon lived like hawks, so they couldn't be seen near the building too often. It had taken seven years between Clan obligations, missions, Chuunin Exams and Jonin Exams to reach the point that the building could be destroyed and kill the demon.**

 **He had detonated the tags the day after the Genin Exam, thinking that the demon would still be in its home, moping after being failed again. He had then gone out for a drink to celebrate, only to see the damn demon bitch walking beside the Third Hokage towards the Clan Residential district. Not only that, but she wore a hitai-ate!**

 **He couldn't understand it. How? How had the conniving demon escaped the trap he had worked so hard on for seven years? How had she actually managed to graduate? He was utterly confused. Not to mention angry.**

 **Fine then. If he couldn't kill her subtly, he'd just gut her in person. He had been a Jonin for over two years and could easily handle Kurenai, who had only been promoted a couple of months ago. The two Heiresses were not even a speed bump to Haruo's mind.**

The aforementioned 'speed bumps' frowned and clenched their fists in anger. That Hinata was getting that angry was just as shocking to those that noticed as it was that Ino wasn't verbally lashing out.

 **Haruo was so focussed on his plan that he failed to notice a masked figure following behind him.**

* * *

Yuki could tell that most everybody there was nervous, none more so than Ino, Naruto, and Hinata: The ones involved.

 **With Team 8**

 **Naruko was smiling happily, as she walked into Ichiraku's with her team. She was surprised that she was lucky enough to get on a team with two of her friends. She couldn't think how she could have coped with either Kiba or Ami on her team, and don't even get her started on Sasuke the Emo Prince!**

Kiba frowned and crossed his arms in thought. _'Why doesn't Naruko want to be in my team? I mean with Naruto we weren't the best of friends, but we still hung out on occasion...'_

 **"Ossan, Ayame-nee-chan!" she called to the owners as she took a seat at the counter. Ichiraku Teuchi turned around, his usual large smile growing slightly larger at the sight of his best customer.**

 **"Naruko-chan! Where have you been the last two days? Ayame was growing frantic when she heard your apartment building was blown up." he asked her with concern in his voice**

The Rookies looked at Naruto for an explanation. He just sat there with a sheepish expression on his face, rubbing the back of his neck "They've been like a sister and uncle to me ever since I first at there..."

 **Naruko scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Ehehehe. Sorry, Ossan. I was with Sandaime-ji-chan when my apartment was blown up, then I had to crash for the night. This morning I was busy cleaning up my new place."**

 **"Ah, well that's good." Teuchi smiled at Naruko fondly. He was interrupted by a brown blur that leapt over the counter and crashed into Naruko.**

 **Ino and Hinata gaped as a brown-haired older girl hugged Naruko in a death grip. "Naruko, where have you been?! Baka imouto! (Idiot little sister!)" The brown haired girl cried out.**

For once, Naruto wasn't liking being the center of attention.

 **"Ayame, you'd better let Naruko go before she suffocates." Teuchi said, amusement colouring his voice. Ayame 'eep'd' as she let go of Naruko, who had been turning blue in Ayame's embrace.**

 **"G-gomen, Naruko-chan." Ayame said after her surrogate sister had recovered from her 'death by glomp' experience.**

 **"It's ok Ayame-nee-chan. I should have let you know I was alright." Naruko replied with a grin. Teuchi caught sight of her hitai-ate.**

 **"Oh, Naruko-chan! You graduated! Congratulations!" he boomed.**

 **"Yep!" Naruko said, pride in her voice.**

 **"And these two must be your team?" Teuchi deduced.**

 **"Uh-huh. This is Yamanaka Ino-chan and Hyuuga Hinata-chan." Naruko introduced her friends to Teuchi.**

 **"Hi!" Ino said with a smile.**

 **"A-Ano…H-hello, Ichiraku-san." Hinata said, with a small bow.**

 **"Just call me Teuchi, Ojou-chan." The chef said kindly, "Tell you what, to celebrate your graduation, the first bowl is on the house."**

You could tell that Choji was jealous that there was free food... and he could partake in any of it.

 **"Thanks Ossan!" Naruko beamed at him, "I'll have a Pork Ramen."**

 **"A small Veggie Ramen." Ino said.**

 **"A Ch-Chicken Ramen, please." Hinata said politely.**

 **The three girls chatted about their classmates who were in Teams one through six while they ate. Both Ino and Hinata were just as glad as Naruko was that Ami was not on their team. Ami had been the class queen bitch and only her cronies liked her.**

 **After they finished, they made their way back to the Academy. As they walked, Naruko looked at Ino with a small frown on her face.**

 **"Ino-chan, you need to eat more." She said finally.**

 **"I'm on a diet Naruko." Ino replied.**

 **"We're kunoichi. We don't need to diet." Naruko argued. "We have an active life and exercise a lot when we train. All your diet is doing to you is stopping you from getting the energy you need!"**

Yuki nodded as the group looked at him for confirmation "Not only that, but it would stunt your growth... in more ways than one..." a teasing grin spread onto his face as he looked at the girls of the group "Its the reason why Hinata's the only one that looks like she hit puberty and why Tenten usually wears chest bindings while the rest of the girls in your class made ironing boards jealous with your flatness."

Ino and Sakura pales heavily and vowed to end their diets as soon as they could, however Yuki spoke up again "I'm actually surprised Sakura was on a diet at all." that got the pinkette's attention "Knowing how studious you are, I'm surprised you never read up on Ninja nutritionary needs. Once you unlock chakra, diets become obsolete and its recommended that a ninja eat higher ammounts of protein and carbohydrates. Otherwise you not only stunt your physical growth, but the growth of your chakra reserves. Its the same reason why Naruto's all ramen diet left him so short. Only in his case, he needs a bit more meat and vitamins and stuff." He turned to Naruto "Don't worry, after this is over I'll give you some recipes to help. Especially a certain trick when it comes to vegetable and fruit juices."

 **"Naruko, I am sticking to my diet." Ino replied, a tick mark appearing on her head, "Sasuke-kun won't like me if I'm fat."**

 **"Still don't see what you see in that teme." Naruko said, "He has all the personality of a dead fish and I've had better conversations with Akamaru."**

 **"Baka! Don't insult Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled at her, "What do you have against him anyway?"**

 **"An Uchiha tried to kill me when I was seven!" Naruko snapped back angrily, "The only Uchihas who didn't hurt me were Itachi-nii, Sasuke's mum and Shisui-san!"**

That got everyone's attention, especially Sasuke's.

 **Wide-eyed, Ino stared at Naruko in horror. "Why though? Did you prank them or something?"**

 **"Can't tell you that Ino-chan." Naruko said softly. "Just trust me; Sasuke-teme is not worth it if he's anything like what the majority of his Clan were like."**

Sasuke looked like he was starting to get angry "What do you mean by that?!"

Yuki was again the one to answer "Sasuke, first up, you have to realize that most of your clan were pompous and arrogant and thought they were the best on the battlefield with a freshly awoken Sharingan, which usually led to them getting killed off really quickly. Those that didn't die usually never trained to get better and were satisfied with stealing jutsu without any regard for morals or laws, even going so far as to steal from other shinobi or clans in Konoha. Which is the main reason they were pushed to the edge of the village, on top of a rumor that an Uchiha was the reason for the Kyuubi attack. A rumor that is at least partially true as it was a rogue Uchiha claiming to be Madara that caused it, and that didn't die down due to the proof of Madara controlling the Kyuubi at the valley of the end against the first hokage."

Yuki took a breath as he let Sasuke and the others absorb the information. "And the only ones that weren't were Itachi, Shisui and your Mother Mikoto."

Sasuke sank back into his seat as he went over everything that he just heard. The silence stretched on for a few minutes before Yuki went back to the story.

 **Ino looked like she wanted to ask something else, but they had reached the Academy and so she evidently decided to wait until later to grill Naruko. Making their way to their classroom for what would presumably be the last time, Team 8 sat together and waited for their Jonin-sensei.**

 **"Oh yeah, guess what you two." Naruko said excitedly, "Ji-chan told me about my mother yesterday."**

 **"I-I'm glad for you, Naruko-chan." Hinata said with a happy smile. All of Naruko's friends knew how much the blond prankster yearned to know about her family.**

 **"So, who was she?" Ino asked. Naruko smiled softly.**

 **"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, an S-Rank Jonin Kunoichi.," she said quietly. "Ji-chan said she could give Yondaime-sama a hard time in a spar if he didn't use his Hiraishin no Jutsu."**

Yuki brought up some pictures of Kushina. The first was a close-up of her when she was at the academy, to which many commented that she looked a lot like Naruto, especially the way her face was. The second was a full shot right after she graduated, showing off her ninja attire at the time. The third showed her in her Jounin outfit, and finally a picture of Kushina when she was pregnant with Naruto. The last one brought a tear to Naruto's eyes as he looked at it, burning every piece of the picture into his memory. The girls looked like they found themselves another role model while Kiba was surprised that Naruto had such a hot mom.

 **"Wow." Hinata breathed in awe. The Yondaime Hokage was practically worshiped by the entire village both for his actions during the Third Great Shinobi War, where he wiped out fully half of Iwagakure's Shinobi forces, and for sacrificing his life to slay the Kyūbi twelve years ago. For Naruko's mother to have been able to give him a hard fight in a spar was incredible.**

 **Ino was equally stunned. "I'll say. What happened to her?"**

 **Naruko slumped a bit. "She died an hour after giving birth to me. Her body was discovered next to Yondaime-sama's. The file I read didn't say how she died or why she was on the battlefield almost immediately after giving birth to me."**

Everyone tore themselves away from the picture to look back at Yuki. He gave a sigh and answered "She was the second Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi, and in most cases the seal holding a biju weakens during the hormonal mess of pregnancy and is at its weakest during childbirth. However the seal Naruko has, is the same as yours and for her, it isn't affected by that. So she doesn't have anything to worry about if she became pregnant."

 **Ino's eyes watered and she felt like kicking herself for asking such an insensitive question. She had obviously died before Naruko could remember her, so she should have kept her mouth shut.**

 **"Sorry, Naruko-chan. I shouldn't have asked that." Ino said softly.**

 **Naruko shook her head slightly. "It's ok Ino-chan." She assured her friend with a small smile.**

 **Just then, the door opened and a pair of Shinobi entered the room. One was a man who looked a lot like a much younger version of the Third Hokage, wearing the standard Jonin outfit, with a sash around his waist with the character '火' (Fire) emblazoned on it. Naruko supposed that this was Sarutobi Asuma.**

Yuki chuckled, getting everyone's attention. "I remember one world, Naruto. When you first met him, the first thing out of your mouth was 'Are you Jiji's pain in the ass'. It got him sputtering in response and is a personal favorite moment of mine." Naruto chuckled, he'd have to remember that one.

 **The other person to walk in was a kunoichi. She had black hair, an unsettling pair of red eyes and wore an outfit that looked like it was made of bandages with thorny vines painted on them. Presumably then, this was Yūhi Kurenai. Naruko noted with disgust that Kiba was leering at her lecherously.**

Kiba blanched and looked at Yuki, the expression was hard to place. "Yes Kiba, it looks like this is going to be one of those alternates."

 **"Team Ten, this way." the Sandaime look-alike said before walking out. Shino, Shikamaru and Choji made their way out the door. The Jonin Kunoichi looked around and said, "Team 8? With me." and walked out as well.**

 **The three genin hurried after her and caught up to her at the Academy's main entrance.**

 **She looked each of them in the eyes, smiling when she saw Hinata, and said, "Meet me at Ashigya's Dango Shop." before she vanished in a swirl of leaves.**

 **Naruko frowned. That was odd. Why would she…?**

 **Suddenly, the gauntlet she had hidden on her arm warmed up and was getting hot! Naruko pulled her sleeve and looked at it. The eyes of the snarling ape face were glowing red, reminding Naruko of the Jonin-sensei that had just been here.**

 **Looking up at her teammates, Naruko frowned when she saw that their pupils were contracted and they seemed to be staring off into the distance. Her own eyes widened when she realised what was happening.**

 **'Genjutsu!' Forming the Tiger seal, Naruko attempted to dispel the illusion. "Kai! (Release!)" she said as she tried to halt the flow of chakra within herself and then overpower the chakra of the person who had cast the genjutsu with her own chakra. Much to her own surprise, it worked, revealing her sensei standing in front of her with wide eyes.**

 **"You broke free of my Genjutsu: Sanran Yōkō no Jutsu (Illusion: Scattered Leaf Journey Jutsu) and my Genjutsu: Tōmei Manto no Jutsu (Illusion: Invisibility Cloak Jutsu) before either of your teammates even discovered they were even in a genjutsu!" She exclaimed in shock, "How? I was told that you had no skill in genjutsu or genjutsu detection."**

Everyone looked at Yuki for an answer, _'I really should get used to something like this happening'_ "It will be explained later."

 **"Ehehehe." Naruko chuckled nervously. "Would you accept 'I don't know either' as an answer?"**

 **"I'm afraid not." Kurenai replied firmly. Naruko sighed and revealed En'ō Kago-te. "I think it has something to do with this gauntlet that Sandaime-ji-chan gave me yesterday. I think my chakra control goes up a bit when I wear it."**

 **"'A bit'" Kurenai parroted, "Try 'By a whole lot' Naruko. The Academy's reports say you couldn't even recognise that you were in a genjutsu, let alone break two almost simultaneously."**

 **Naruko flushed at this and opened her mouth to reply, but then Hinata ran through a short handsign sequence and said, "Byakugan! (White Eye)", prompting veins on the sides of her eyes to bulge out. After looking around for a moment, Hinata cancelled the genjutsu on herself.**

 **"N-Naruko-chan? Ino-chan?" Hinata asked looking between her friends. Naruko swiftly concealed her gauntlet. She didn't want any more questions asked of her than Kurenai already had.**

 **"Ino-chan's still under the genjutsu." Naruko told her. "I'd get her out of it but...ah…I kinda don't know how to get another person out of a genjutsu other than with pain and if I use that method, Ino-chan will thump me one."**

Ino spoke up "You bet your ass I would." levelling a glare at Naruto. The boy in question was attempting to use Hinata as cover to hide, much to the girl's embarrassment.

 **Hinata giggled as she formed the Tiger seal again then reached to touch Ino's head and said "Kai!" Ino immediately blinked and looked around as Hinata removed her hand from her friend.**

 **"Huh…? What the…?" the mind-walker said, disoriented by her sudden return to reality.**

 **"It looks like our sensei was testing us in advance of the real Genin Test." Naruko said dryly. Kurenai's eyes narrowed at Naruko's words.**

Everyone was a bit curious now, they had only just found out the day before taking it themselves, which had been yesterday for the younger genin.

 **"How did you know about the test? No genin is supposed to know about the real test until told by their sensei." She asked sharply.**

 **Naruko shrugged nonchalantly. "Ji-chan mentioned it yesterday. He didn't say what it was; just that it's going to happen tomorrow."**

 **Kurenai stared at Naruko for a moment before sighing and beckoning the girls to follow her. They walked to the Dango restaurant that Kurenai had mentioned previously and sat at a table. Kurenai ordered a pot of tea along with a plate of dango.**

 **"Alright. Let's begin by introducing ourselves." the red-eyed Jonin said briskly as she poured herself some tea.**

 **"Introduce ourselves?" Ino said blankly, "Why? I've been friends and classmates with Naruko and Hinata for years."**

 **"But you don't know me and I don't know you." Kurenai replied, "I'll go first. I'm Yūhi Kurenai. I like dango and my friends, I dislike perverts and people who lower the standards of kunoichi. My dream for the future is to train you all into strong kunoichi. Your turn, Ponytail."**

 **Ino's eyebrow twitched at the nickname,**

as did her counterpart.

 **but she forced down her lingering irritation at the Jonin who had put her under a genjutsu for a preliminary test, although Ino inwardly acknowledged that a great deal of her irritation was due to her own inability to detect and break the damn genjutsu.**

 **"Fine. I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like flowers, red bean soup and Sasuke-kun. I dislike loud and obnoxious people and, on occasion, Forehead Girl. My dream is to be a strong Kunoichi and master my Clan Jutsu."**

Both Naruto and Hinata turned to Ino, and spoke at the same time "You like Red Bean Soup too?" This caused all three of them to look at each other in mild shock, before a small smile graced their features.

 **'Hmmm. Slight fangirl issues, but nothing too severe.' Kurenai thought as she motioned to Hinata that it was her turn.**

 **"I-I'm Hyūga Hinata. I like…" she sneaked a blushing glance at Naruko, "…Cinnamon Buns, m-my friends, Flower Pressing a-and origami. I d-dislike people who put the b-blame where it isn't due and The Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu (Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Jutsu). M-My dream is to reunite the Hyūga Clan as a f-family and become a strong kunoichi."**

 **'Looks like she still admires Naruko. And she still hates the 'Caged Bird' Seal.' Kurenai smiled at the girl she considered her surrogate daughter, before turning to Naruko.**

 **"And finally, Naruko. Your turn."**

 **"Yosh! I'm Uzumaki Naruko! I like my friends, training, Ramen and a soon to be added addition is researching my family history. I dislike Sasuke-teme, people who can't see the scroll for the kunai it seals, the 3-minute wait to cook cup Ramen and perverts. My dream is to become the Hokage who will surpass all those who came before me-dattebayo!"**

 **'…Well that was a whole lot more detailed than I expected. Family History? I thought she was an orphan. She's obviously taking a stand against the village idiots who think she's the fox. Good for her.' Kurenai thought approvingly.**

 **"Very good. Now, as Naruko said earlier, you have yet to actually pass the real test for becoming Genin." Kurenai said seriously.**

 **"What was the Academy Graduation Test for then?" asked Ino irately.**

 **"A filter. To keep those who lack the most basic skills out of the Shinobi Forces." Kurenai replied, "By passing those exams, you have proven that you are ready to be truly tested. I should warn you, the failure rate of the True Genin Exam is 66% or, more simply, two-thirds of those who will take the test tomorrow will fail it."**

Naruto just grumbled out loud at how "that explanation was much better and easier to understand than the one Kakashi-sensei gave us..."

 **"Two-thirds?!" Ino almost shouted in shock.**

 **"Yes. All those who fail are sent back to repeat the last year of the Academy." Kurenai said, absolutely serious. "The test is tomorrow. Meet at Training Field 8 at 8 O'clock sharp. Dismissed."**

 **The three genin got up and bowed to Kurenai before walking off, leaving Kurenai frowning in consternation at the retreating back of one Uzumaki Naruko.**

 **'I had better ask Hokage-sama about that gauntlet. I've never heard of a device that improves chakra control like that before.' Kurenai thought, unaware of the eavesdropping man who got up and wandered after her students.**

* * *

 **Hokage's Office, Five Hours Later**

 **Kurenai's eyebrow was twitching rapidly in irritation. She, along with the Hokage and the rest of the Jonin-sensei, were waiting for the last member of their group, the infamous Hatake Kakashi, to arrive. He was infamous for arriving three hours late to anything but A-Rank-plus Missions or a meeting with the Hokage. In the latter's case he was instead only one hour late.**

After that statement, it looked like the twitching eyebrows of irritation were rampant among the genin.

 **Kurenai hated the man, who almost had to be a pervert, reading those smutty books in public as he did. She willingly admitted that his accomplishments during the Third Great Shinobi War and as an ANBU Captain were impressive and noteworthy, but the man himself was an awful avatar of deviant hobbies and bad habits. She only hoped that none of his genin picked any of them.**

 **A puff of smoke signalled the arrival -finally- of the errant Jonin, who greeted them all with a jaunty "Yo."**

 **"Kakashi." the Hokage sighed, "I don't really mind if you are an hour late to a meeting when it's just me, but from now on, you will be on time of any meetings involving the Jonin-sensei. Understood?"**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." The silver-haired man replied in a monotone voice.**

 **The Hokage looked at the former ANBU Captain for a moment, before sighing and spoke to the rest of the Jonin-sensei. "Now that we are all finally here, I would like your impressions of your teams and how you think they might fare tomorrow."**

 **The Jonin-sensei's for teams one through six were pessimistic about their teams' chances. One even questioned why they were even bothering to test all-civilian raised teams in the first place.**

 **Finally, it was Kakashi's turn. "Sakura is a fangirl, which is troublesome. She focuses almost exclusively on Sasuke, to the point of obsession. Kiba is arrogant, plain and simple. In addition, he is dismissive of kunoichi in general. Sasuke is also arrogant and gives his teammates the cold shoulder, seeing them as beneath him. I highly doubt they will pass my test." The one eyed jonin said lazily as he turned a page in his book.**

Kiba paled at hearing that, it might have been the truth in the world the book took place in, but in the here that he lived in his mother and sister would beat the ever living tar out of him if he even dared to think that.

Sasuke heard what Kakashi thought of him, and was busy going over how he's acted, his attitude up until then, and how much of that would actually hinder any of his goals, and he wasn't liking the results.

 **"I see… Asuma?" Sarutobi said, turning to look at his son.**

 **"Chōji is unmotivated by anything short of anyone calling him fat and he eats too much, even for an Akimichi.**

Choji looked like he swallowed a lemon when he heard that.

 **Shikamaru, I suspect, is lazy but highly intelligent like the rest of his clan. Shino is quiet, to the point of rudeness.**

Shino silently marked down that comment in his mind and made a note to work on that in the future.

 **I suspect that his average marks at the academy, like Shikamaru's, are by design rather than lack of effort. I think they'll pass." Asuma said with a smile that made Kurenai blush slightly.**

 **"Good. Kurenai?"**

 **"My team is…interesting. Ino is a fangirl, similar to Sakura, but not nearly as severe, I would say. There might be a point of contention with Naruko, but I think their friendship is too strong for it to be a factor. Hinata is shy and lacks confidence, but with Naruko's presence, I hope that will fade. Naruko is….hard to describe. She is loud, uninhibited and I believe she lacks discipline. However, from what I gathered, she is planning to take a stand against those who believe her to be the fox and she is very loyal to her friends. I believe my team will pass as well." Kurenai said with a small smile.**

Some of the genin smiled softly at their assessments.

 **"Very well. Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma, you three stay. Everyone else is dismissed to prepare for tomorrow." Sarutobi ordered. Once the rest of the Jonin had left, the old Hokage's face hardened into granite as he spoke.**

 **"Kurenai, I have received word that one of your students is under threat of assassination."**

 **"What?!" Kurenai's eyes flashed with anger, "Who?"**

 **"Naruko. By the person we suspect to have been responsible for blowing up her former apartment building." Sarutobi replied gravely.**

 **"Why haven't you arrested the culprit yet?" She asked.**

 **"Because all we have are suspicions. A lot of damning circumstantial evidence, suspicious behaviour and secretive goings on, but nothing that solidly links our suspect to anything we think he did." Sarutobi replied.**

 **Kurenai frowned. Technically, as sitting Hokage, Sarutobi was the military dictator of Konoha and able to do pretty much as he pleased.**

 **On paper.**

 **In practice, (most of) the civilian council dug its heels in stubbornly whenever the Sandaime infringed on non-shinobi matters.**

Most frowned at that. Yuki could see the strong dislike of the Civilian Council start to build just by hearing all of this.

 **Whereas the Shinobi council, who held far more power, had to be handled just right, as several of them were ancient and powerful clans dating back to before Konoha's founding, such as the Hyūga, whereas others were vital to the various areas of the Konoha Shinobi forces, such as the Kurama Clan (Genjutsu), the Inuzuka (Tracking and Taijutsu), the Aburame (Tracking), the Hyūga (Tracking and Taijutsu), the Nara (Strategy), the Akamichi (Front-line fighters), the Yamanaka (Interrogation) and (before their destruction) the Uchiha (Ninjutsu).**

 **All of these factors, in addition to the fact that Sarutobi was an old man who should still be retired, meant he could not act without cause.**

 **"Who's the suspect?" She asked.**

 **"Yamanaka Haruo. He was shadowing your team right up until you placed them in that genjutsu then went ahead to the Dango restaurant you mentioned. It is the ANBU's opinion he plans to ambush your team during their Genin test tomorrow." Sarutobi replied.**

 **"He was shadowing them and I never knew it?" Kurenai was horrified. Was she useless as a jonin?**

 **"Haruo is a skilled jonin who has specialised in infiltration and assassination, Kurenai. There is no need to feel inadequate as a jonin because a specialist managed to fool you." Sarutobi added, as if reading her mind.**

 **"Right." Kurenai shook her head to clear it, "So, what's the plan to catch him?"**

 **Sarutobi smiled predatorily, making the three Jonin shiver and make mental notes to never, ever get on the bad side of Sarutobi Hiruzen. That smile promised pain.**

Naruto perked up when he saw that smile, it was just like his own prankster smile when he was planning to get payback against some of the more, in his mind, evil villagers.

* * *

 **With Naruko**

 **Former Toji Clan Home, Clan Residential District**

 **Naruko looked over the work her clones had done and smiled. The place was spotless and most definitely going *ping*. Not bad for another five hours of concentrated effort by fifty clones plus herself.**

 **After Kurenai had dismissed them, Team 8 had split up because Ino had one last shift at her family's flower shop to do, while Hinata had to report to her father about who was on her team.**

 **Naruko waved off Hinata's apologies and told her that obviously her father was going to want to know who was on his daughter's team, especially since Hinata was his heir.**

 **Naruko had spent a couple of hours doing a bit of shopping. She had run low on shuriken and kunai so she had stocked up. She had also taken the opportunity to buy a brand new outfit. While she loved her orange jumpsuit for its practicality, durability and, most importantly, colour, she had decided that as an honest to kami kunoichi, not a student, a more subdued colour scheme was in order.**

 **'Hehehe…Ino-chan won't believe her eyes tomorrow.' Naruko thought smugly. Ino's complaints and rants about 'that accursed orange monstrosity' were legendary at the Academy.**

 **The Academy….Naruko remembered Kurenai-sensei's warning about what would happen to those who failed the True Genin Test. Her face contorted in a scowl. No. She absolutely would not fail tomorrow. She had been lucky that her Ji-chan gave her a special pass to graduate due to her mastery of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. If she failed and got sent back, she had little doubt that there would be a rule stating that only the Bunshin no Jutsu would be allowed.**

 **Even although she could use the damn thing, she did not want to have to wait an entire year to prove she could accomplish what she thought of as the single most useless jutsu she had ever seen. Even her Orioke no Jutsu was more useful than the basic Bunshin.**

 **'My family scrolls!' Naruko remembered the two boxes she had put in her room last night, 'Maybe I'll find something in there that can help me!'**

 **Dispelling her clones in a hurry, Naruko made it two paces before an enormous influx of memories, ten hours worth from the first 30 clones and five hours worth from the 20 she had made when she arrived back from her first team meeting, giving her the mother of all headaches.**

Yuki gave Naruto a look and the boy knew that what was happening was just more proof to be safe with the Shadow Clones.

 **"OK, that hurt. What the hell was it?" Naruko muttered aloud once the searing pain disappeared. She could now remember cleaning the entire house from top to bottom and from multiple points of view….the points of view from her clones!**

 **"No way…" she muttered in awe. She could remember everything her clones did? Was that even possible? She hadn't exactly read the part of the effect on the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu other than how to perform it.**

 **Deciding that she needed advice and to run a test whilst getting it, Naruko made another shadow clone and ordered it to go ask Iruka-sensei about the full details of what the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu could do.**

 **Having temporarily sated her curiosity about her best jutsu, Naruko moved once again to investigate her family's scrolls. Once she reached her room, she frowned as she looked between the red box and the orange box.**

 **'Well, since my mother had red hair, I can guess that there might be family stuff in the red box. The orange one…I have no clue. I'll go with the red one for now.'**

 **Decision made, Naruko lifted the lid off of the box and peered inside. The box was full of scrolls. There were about seven large ones, a couple of medium sized ones and several smaller ones. Secured atop one was a folded letter with her name on it.**

 **Reaching out with a trembling hand, Naruko picked up the letter and turned it around to see who had written it.**

 **'Uzumaki Kushina' was written on the back where a sender's name was usually written. Naruko gasped. A letter from her mother. Quite possibly the only words she would ever read written directly to her from her mother.**

 **Swallowing the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat, Naruko unfolded the letter slowly and began to read it.**

 **'To my daughter Naruko,**

 **As I write this, we have only just been told that you are a girl, so I can finally write down without tripping over gender-specific words. I hope that your father and I are sitting with you and laughing about your mother's paranoia during pregnancy, but this letter is written in the case that something goes wrong during the birth.**

 **Therefore, I must assume that either I am dead and your father is alive, or that both of us are dead and you are alone, for which I am sorrier than you can imagine.**

 **To start then. My name is Uzumaki Kushina, the last of the Main Branch of the Uzumaki Clan, and I am proud to say that I am your mother. I have blood-red hair and dark blue eyes. When I was younger, people nicknamed me 'Tomato' because my face was quite round back then and my hair was so unusual. They regretted it though when I beat them up!**

Everyone but Naruto, Yuki, and Hinata deadpanned. They could see where Naruto got his personality from.

 **I became a genin in due course, and I was quite the scrappy tomboy, so much so that my new nickname was 'The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero'. When I became a jonin, my exploits on the battlefield during the Third Great Shinobi War earned me a nickname I do not take much pride in: 'The Bloody Crimson Death'.**

 **The Uzumaki are related to the Senju Clan and have been allies for years. I was brought to Konoha for a very specific purpose: to become the container, or 'Jinchūriki' of the powerful Bijū known as the Kyūbi no Kitsune.'**

 **Naruko stopped reading, shocked. Konoha had brought her mother here to use as a damn container! How dare they! Naruko gritted her teeth and kept reading, hoping something here would explain why.**

 **'The word 'Jinchūriki' is an old one, as old as the shinobi world itself. It means literally 'The Power of Human Sacrifice'. Those that are called this have Bijū sealed within them, mostly done as a newborn child. This is because as a newborn, a human has undeveloped chakra coils and so the Bijū's immense power cannot shatter and destroy the coils. Instead, the child's coils grow immensely due to the influence of the prisoner sealed within.**

 **We Uzumaki however are an exception. You may remember from history (You had better have paid attention!) that the wife of the Shodaime Hokage was an Uzumaki, my Great Aunt Mito in fact. After Senju Hashirama defeated Uchiha Madara at the Valley of The End, Mito-baa-chan used an Uzumaki Clan Fūinjutsu to seal the Kyūbi, which had been under Madara's control, within her. She survived because our bodies make the perfect hosts for the tailed beasts.**

 **After a number of tests, Mito-baa-chan and the Shodaime concluded that the full weight of the Kyūbi's chakra was such that none but an Uzumaki could contain it, because of our immensely dense, powerful and unique chakra. Even then, only a select few from the main branch had the necessary chakra to be a host.**

 **Mito contained the Kyūbi through the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars unknown to the villagers of Konoha. Sadly, although the Uzumaki are known to be long-lived, Mito-baa-chan eventually felt that her life was to come to an end, so Sandaime-sama sent word to the home of the Uzumaki, Uzushiogakure, for someone to contain the Kyūbi before Mito-baa-chan passed away.**

 **I was chosen due to my extra dense and powerful chakra, but not told of why I was until some time after I arrived. Naturally, the thought of hosting the Kyūbi terrified me. Mito-baa-chan comforted me and once I was ready, the Kyūbi was sealed inside me.**

 **You might be wondering why I am telling you this, Naruko-chan, and I will tell you now. The entire reason I am writing this letter is because for a Jinchūriki, there is one time, and only one time, when the seal keeping the Bijū weakens and that is only applicable for female Jinchūriki.**

 **Childbirth.**

 **During the nine months of pregnancy, the energy used to maintain the seal is instead directed towards the developing child, gradually weakening the seal until at childbirth, the seal is at it's absolute weakest point and the risk of the Bijū breaking out actually becomes feasible.**

 **We are taking all possible precautions to prevent this of course. The Yondaime is going to be standing by to reform the seal immediately after childbirth, so the Kyūbi stands no chance of escaping. Minato is a superb Sealmaster. For a non-Uzumaki.**

 **However, as you are reading this, I must tell you now: you are, in all likelihood, the new Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. If the Kyūbi escaped, the only way to stop it is to seal it within a new vessel: you. It could not be re-sealed within me, because when a tailed beast escapes or is extracted, it usually kills the former host. Uzumaki live for about two hours after extraction, to judge from Mito-baa-chan's example.**

Hearing that horrified those listening, with only Sasuke and Neji being the exception, and were starting to feel bad about how they treated Naruto, or felt that they should have done more.

 **I desperately do not want to have you bear the burden of a Jinchūriki, so I have insisted on every scenario be considered to ensure the fox stays put. If that old fool Sarutobi hasn't told you about the Kyūbi yet, give his family jewels a good kick and say that it was maternal payback from me.**

Glancing over to his brother's section, Yuki could definitely tell that the third was whimpering at that line.

 **If you are the new Jinchūriki though, something must have happened that we did not consider. It won't be a problem with the Fūinjutsu (because of Minato being there), nor will it be an issue with me bleeding to death during childbirth. Sarutobi Biwako, Sandaime-sama's wife, is the best midwife and med-nin in the world aside from Tsunade of the Sannin.**

 **If anything, I would say that someone interfered with the process. However, we will be guarded by several teams of ANBU whilst under a kekkai in a secret location, so I am actually at a loss as to how this could have happened.**

 **You should be a chunin when you read this, so I am sorry that you have not known of your family until now. The contents of this box hold the knowledge, history and jutsu of the entire Uzumaki Clan. I received it a couple of days after the destruction of Uzushiogakure from the personal summon of my father, the Uzukage (Eddy Shadow).**

 **I had Minato store this box in a secret safe built into the wall of the Hokage's office, just in case. He is a bit of an idiot. He believes that the village would honour any child of mine regardless of whether it had the Kyūbi sealed in it or not. I am less trusting than he is.**

 **Now, I will give you the same advice that Mito-baa-chan gave me when she gave me the courage to become the Kyūbi's container.**

 **Fill yourself with love. It is the only thing that can counter the Kyūbi's chakra, which floods its host with negative emotions. Find someone, something to love and hold it close to your heart with both hands. Mito-baa-chan had Hashirama and I have your father. It worked for us and it will work for you.**

 **That is all I can tell you, my beloved daughter. The history of our clan, right up to the day of its near annihilation, is here for you to study. Our unique Ninjutsu, our Taijutsu, our Kenjutsu, all of it is for you and your descendents. In another box, coloured orange, is the Uzumaki's Fūinjutsu library, although I would advise you to work through standard books on Fūinjutsu before you so much as look at those.**

 **I also leave you my own sword, which served me faithfully throughout my career as a kunoichi. I called it Benihime (Crimson Princess), although others, mainly Shinobi from Iwa, Kumo and Kiri called it the 'Ryūketsu Shinigami' (Bloody Reaper). Whenever it changes hands, its name is wiped clean and the new owner must name it when it next takes a life.**

 **My daughter, you will live a hard, painful life and I wish I had been able to save you from it. Just know that your father and I love you with everything we have, even from death. When you make Jonin, you will receive another box like these two from your father. This must be frustrating for you, but I had many enemies who would seek to take revenge on you to get at me, even in death. Your father has even more enemies that would seek to do the same.**

 **With all my love,**

 **Uzumaki Kushina'**

Naruto was full blown tears at this point, as were the girls, especially Hinata, who was using Naruto's shoulder to cry on.

 **Tears fell from Naruko's eyes as she finished reading the letter her mother had left her. Thoughts swirled in her with alarming frequency, none able to surface to be heard in the raging tumult that was her mind at the moment.**

 **Her mother had done everything she could to prevent Naruko from becoming a Jinchūriki, but it had failed for a reason that had somehow gotten past all of the preparations and precautions that the Yondaime and the Sandaime had arranged. Her mother had loved her. Loved her enough to risk dying to give birth to her.**

 **Wiping her eyes angrily, Naruko then carefully folded the letter up again and put it carefully on her bedside table. She then examined the box of scrolls and selected two from within it, then closed the box again.**

 **She was then hit by an influx of memories from the clone she had sent to Iruka-sensei. Evidently, she could use the Kage Bunshin to speed learn jutsu and improve her chakra control. Nice.**

 **'Don't worry mother. I will make you proud. I'll live with everything I have, and prove those idiots in the village wrong. I am Uzumaki Naruko and not the fox.' The last Uzumaki promised her deceased mother as she walked towards the training hall with purpose in her steps.**

Naruto agreed with his other and vowed to do the same.

* * *

 **The Next Day, 07:55 AM**

 **Training Field 8, Konohagakure Outskirts**

 **"Where is Naruko?" Yelled an irate Yamanaka Ino as she paced back and forth, constantly checking the position of the sun to tell what time it was. Standing a short distance away from the purple clad kunoichi was Hinata, poking her fingers together nervously.**

 **"I-I'm sure she's…on her w-way, Ino-chan." Hinata said quietly. Ino swung around with an irate look on her face.**

 **"She'd better be or I'll kick her ass!" Ino said dangerously, "No way am I going back to the academy because she damn well slept in!"**

 **"Good thing I arrived just now then, eh Ino-chan?" said a voice from behind the blond Kunoichi, making her and Hinata jump in fright.**

 **"Naruko!" Ino yelled in fury as she whirled around, "You scared me….to…" her voice faded as she took in the form of her teammate. Hinata gasped, squeaked out 'eep!' and turned redder than a tomato when she saw Naruko.**

 **Instead of her usual orange jumpsuit, she was wearing a very interesting outfit. A tight black bodysuit that started at her neck and stopped at her thighs, a pale blue vest that did little to conceal her mildly impressive cleavage, a dull blue skirt and a dull red trench coat with a black hood adorned Naruko's body now. Black ninja sandals encased her feet. The right sleeve of the coat was missing and had a pair of black belts attached to the front and back of the coat and she had a beautiful gauntlet adorning her right forearm. Her hair was in its usual ponytail, with the hitai-ate tied across her forehead and under the ponytail's tie.**

Half the boys had full on blushes when the picture came up, while the others were furiously trying to push down their own. Hinata looked like she blushed so much that it was spilling out based on the nosebleed and iridescent glow she had.

 **"N-Naruko?" Ino asked, stunned, "Is that really you?"**

 **"In the flesh -dattebayo." Naruko grinned her foxy smile at her two friends, "Sorry for being late. I…didn't get much sleep, for more than one reason."**

 **Hinata saw that Naruko's eyes were red and swollen. "Ano…Naruko-chan…you've been crying…w-what happened?"**

 **Ino's eyes widened as she noticed this as well. "Naruko?" It was almost unheard of for the irrepressible, upbeat and stubborn girl to even show a hint of unhappiness. For Naruko to have cried….**

 **"I…" Naruko said in a shaky voice, "I found a letter from my mother that she wrote to me…in case she didn't survive the birth."**

 **The two other kunoichi didn't hesitate to go up to Naruko and envelop her in a hug.**

After wiping away the blood, Hinata did the same for Naruto.

 **Hinata had lost her mother when she was young and missed her desperately. Ino hadn't lost any of her close relatives that she had met, but shuddered at the very thought of losing her mother, whom she loved very much. Naruko returned their hugs with gratitude.**

 **"Well, ain't this cosy, eh Nai-chan?" an amused voice said from behind the three genin. The three-way hug broke up and they saw Kurenai-sensei standing next to a woman dressed similar to Naruko, except more so.**

 **She had purple hair in a pineapple-like style. Her bodysuit was mesh and her skirt was a dull orange. Not to mention shorter than Naruko's. She wore shin-guards over her sandals and her trench coat was a dull tan.**

 **"Indeed." Kurenai agreed with her mysterious companion, "It's good that they are close, isn't it Anko? They might actually survive."**

Yuki muttered something about 'not knowing which one influenced the other'.

 **"Nothing better than smacking around genin fresh out of the Academy. So young, so innocent…such easy prey." The newly named Anko said with a mildly sadistic expression as she licked her lips slowly.**

 **Ino was paling. "Anko…? As in Mitarashi Anko? The Tokujō? Of ANBU T &I?" she squeaked out.**

 **"That's me." Anko said with a grin, "Oh, I recognise you -you're Inoichi's brat aren't ya?"**

 **"She is." Kurenai agreed, "That's Hyūga Hinata over there."**

 **"That stick-up-his-ass Hiashi's eldest?" Anko questioned as Hinata shrank back behind Naruko under the gaze of the older woman. "She's a mouse. You sure, Nai-chan?"**

 **"Hey, quit picking on my friends, hebi-onna (snake woman)!" Naruko growled.**

Naruto found himself doing the same thing.

 **Anko's face went rigid.**

 **"And why do you call me that, gaki?" she said very softly as she locked eyes with Naruko. Kurenai looked warily between the two kunoichi.**

 **The whiskered girl snorted. "Because you reek of snakes. Just like that ANBU who kept breaking into my apartment before some jackass blew it up."**

 **Anko raised an eyebrow. "You can smell that?"**

 **"Uh, yeah. I'm surprised everyone else can't. Seriously, I could track you across a damn jungle." Naruko said with a wrinkled nose.**

 **Anko smirked as she slowly drew a kunai and began fingering it. "That's because I signed the snake summon contract, gaki. Only other shinobi who have signed a contract or very powerful ninja can sense that kind of thing. Which're you?"**

 **"A summon contract? Never even seen one, so the second one I guess." Naruko smirked back. Ino and Hinata were crouched behind the red clad kunoichi like she was a shield.**

 **"That a fact?" Anko asked, "Well, we'll see about that, eh Nai-chan?"**

 **"Uh…yeah." Kurenai said, still trying to recover from the sudden lack of tension in the air, "Ahem. Today, as you know, is the real genin test. Your test…is to get Anko-chan here-" she waved at the evilly grinning kunoichi next to her, "-to drop her kunai."**

 **The three genin looked blank for a moment. Then, Naruko spoke up warily, "So if she throws it at us, she loses?"**

 **"Essentially." replied Kurenai.**

 **"And she has no other kunai on her?" Ino further pressed.**

 **"Nope." Anko replied cheerfully as she tossed her kunai pouch to Kurenai.**

 **"Ano…Kurenai-sensei…are you trying to kill us?" Naruko said her face and voice completely deadpan.**

 **Kurenai raised both eyebrows at this. "Why do you say that?"**

 **"Ino-chan called her a Tokujō earlier. That means a Tokubetsu Jonin, which is only one rank under you-" Naruko said**

 **"Oh, the chance would be a fine thing." Anko muttered, making Kurenai flush red.**

 **"-and I'm fairly certain that new genin like us have only a slightly better chance against a jonin than a snowball in hell!" Ino finished, still pale.**

 **"Tough kiddies. This is your test." Anko said seriously. "Either accept the mission or take off your hitai-ate's and scram. If you are given a mission that seems like suicide in the shinobi world when lives might be at risk, you do the mission, no questions. Weak resolves get you nowhere."**

 **"In for a ryo…." Naruko muttered as she glanced to Ino and Hinata. "You two in? I'm not ready to bow to some crazy snake lady."**

 **Anko's eye twitched at the nickname Naruko gave her.**

 **"M-Me neither." Ino replied, taking heart from Naruko's confidence.**

 **"L-let's do our best." Hinata nodded. Naruko turned back to the watching jonin.**

 **"There you have it. Can we have time to make a plan first?" Naruko asked bluntly.**

 **Anko and Kurenai just looked at them for a second before bursting out in laughter, prompting a tick mark to appear on both Naruko and Ino's heads.**

 **"Oi! What the hell is so funny?" Naruko asked.**

 **"You three…pass!" Kurenai gasped out, holding her aching sides with both hands.**

 **As one, the three genin said, """Eh?"""**

a sentiment echo'd by those in the room not reading.

 **Anko grabbed her kunai pouch from where Kurenai had dropped it and strapped it back on. She then turned to explain the test to the genin.**

 **"Y'see, there are a few important thing you need in a team. Individual abilities, teamwork, planning…all of those are important. But one of the most important is trust in your teammates."**

 **Kurenai took over at this point. "If you don't trust your teammates, you can't make good use of your individual skills. You can't have any reasonable level of teamwork and any planning is useless without trust on the side of the planner and those who will carry out the plan."**

 **She pointed at Ino. "I brought along Anko-chan here because I knew that Ino's father had told her stories about Anko at home, so Ino's resolve was shaken. She knew that Anko was way above her weight class."**

"That was..." Shino started out

"Tricky" Shikamaru finished "and not something most people think about when planning a test like this." Shikamaru folded his fingers together as he leaned forward into them "and by the reactions, I'm guessing that it was different than the one she administered to the team in our world." He got nods in return. The Nara began thinking hard about... well, something... as Yuki went back to the story.

 **Kurenai then gestured at Hinata. "Anko is also very good at intimidating people from just looking at them. Hinata has very little self-confidence, so she was reduced to cowering behind Naruko, someone she trusts."**

 **Anko jumped in again. "So the last one left was Naruko here. She took in Ino's information about my rank, my presence and stares and came up with the fact that they could not win, despite the handicaps we were throwing ya. A sensible conclusion to be fair, as I could whip all three of you at once without even trying. Therefore, I then tried to push you all into a decision by introducing a sudden death situation. Do or do not. Try or fail."**

 **"The key was the fact Naruko instinctively trusted herself, as well as you two. She trusted that you would fight alongside her, without a second of doubt on her part. In turn, the trust she showed in you returned your confidence, Ino, Hinata. And your belief in and trust in Naruko helped you two do that." Kurenai finished with a smile.**

The three genin smiled, happy for their others. However Naruto's smile didn't last, he remembered the chapter's title...

 **The genin kunoichi looked at each other with growing smiles. They had passed! Ino suddenly glomped both Hinata and Naruko with a laugh.**

 **"We did it!" she squealed in delight.**

 **"Damn straight." said Naruko.**

 **"H-Hai." Hinata stammered out, blushing furiously at being drawn so close to Naruko's face by Ino's hug.**

 **Kurenai let the kids celebrate for a moment, before calling them to order. "Alright you three, settle down." she called with a small laugh.**

 **Once the three kunoichi had calmed down, Kurenai continued. "Now that you three are officially genin, we need to see where you skill wise, so you'll be sparring with Anko -no weapons, Anko! - and she'll tell you where you need to improve."**

 **Naruko frowned slightly. "Kurenai-sensei, I already know that my taijutsu is pathetic. Can I skip this bit?"**

 **Kurenai was surprised. From everything she had heard about her, she had expected Naruko to jump at the chance to show off in front of others. "Oh? And who told you that Naruko?"**

 **"Sandaime-ji-chan. He said that Mizuki-teme sabotaged my taijutsu so it was full of openings and was unbalanced." Naruko replied, a slightly dark look coming over her face.**

 **Ino was thunderstruck. "So, when all of us thought that you were getting personal instruction, he was making your taijutsu worthless? What a scumbag!"**

 **Hinata was glaring at nothing in particular, which was intimidating on the face of a Hyūga. Anko scowled and made a note to herself to really go to town on the silver-haired bastard when she got back to T &I.**

 **Kurenai merely frowned slightly. "Well that is certainly troublesome. You'll have to learn the Academy style from scratch."**

 **"Actually, I'm planning on learning my Clan's taijutsu Style Kurenai-sensei." Naruko said happily, "I never felt comfortable with the Academy style, even before Mizuki-teme started messing with it."**

 **"A Clan Style? You have a Clan?" Kurenai asked, surprised.**

 **"Had, actually." Naruko corrected sadly, "The Uzumaki were all but wiped out at the start of the Third Great Ninja War. My mother was one of the few to escape the massacre by being in Konoha when it happened. She left me the Clan Archives and library, so the Uzumaki are still here, even if it's only me."**

 **"Gaki, the only Uzumaki I remember being in Konoha after the War was Kushina-sama. You saying you're her kid?" asked Anko intently.**

 **"Yep. I am proud to be the daughter of the Red-Hot Habanero." Naruko declared.**

 **"Kami..." Kurenai breathed in awe. Before she could say or do anything else, she felt her body struck with a wave of chakra.**

"Here it comes..." Naruto muttered, getting everyone's attention and causing those that cared to become worried.

 **"What the…?!" she got out. All of the others felt it as well. Abruptly, Anko drew back her hand shakily and punched Naruko in the face, sending her to the ground.**

 **"What the HELL Anko?!" Kurenai yelled.**

 **"It's not me!" Anko yelled back, as she moved for another blow, "My body's doing it all on it's own!"**

 **Ino's eyes widened as she kicked Hinata in the gut. "I know what this is! Daddy told me about it! It is a Yamanaka-Clan Jutsu, the Shinranshin no Jutsu! (Mind Destruction Jutsu!)"**

Ino's eyes widened as her worry increased, she knew about that jutsu.

 **Naruko stood up shakily and did a roundhouse kick to Kurenai. "Can you counter it?"**

 **"I haven't even learned it yet!" Ino retorted just before Hinata backhanded her.**

 **"Well, how does it work?" Anko grunted as she tried to stop herself from drawing a kunai and failed.**

 **"Umm…I think it works by sending chakra into the opponents' nervous system." Ino said, desperately trying to remember the conversation she had had with her father about the advanced Clan Jutsu.**

 **"Is that all?" Naruko asked as she shakily forced her arms to obey her, rather than the one acting as the puppet master, and formed the Ram Seal. The sudden explosion of chakra stunned all of them. Kurenai quickly realised what Naruko was doing. She was trying to force the invading chakra out by overwhelming it with her own.**

 **"Stop Naruko! If you force that much chakra into your body, there's no telling what the damage could be!" She shouted.**

 **"I…can…handle…it!" Naruko gritted out. Anko charged at Naruko with her kunai drawn back for a stab.**

 **"If you're gonna do something, do it now!" the Tokujo yelled as she thrust the kunai at Naruko.**

 **{Slice}**

Everyone held their breath

 **Naruko dodged the kunai narrowly and rolled away from Anko quickly.**

and released it, however it didn't stop their worry.

 **"Damn! That was way too close." Naruko panted as she stood. As one, her friends and teachers bodies moved to attack her. Naruko dodged a couple of punches from Hinata, thankful that whoever was controlling Hinata couldn't make her use the Jūken (Gentle Fist) that the Hyūga Clan were so feared for.**

 **"Enough of this! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruko shouted as she formed the seal before her. Instantly, thirty Naruko's swarmed over her unwilling attackers and bound their limbs with rope that Naruko unsealed from a scroll.**

 **Temporarily safe from attacks, Naruko scanned the field as she drew a kunai. The person who used that jutsu had to be somewhere nearby and Naruko doubted that he'd give up as easily as that.**

 **"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu! (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!)" She heard before being dragged up to her neck in the earth. A black clad body leapt up and stood in front of her. He was wearing ANBU-style armour and a red Kitsune mask.**

 **"Get him!" She ordered her clones, who charged the masked man with a roar. Meanwhile, she fruitlessly tried to free herself from her tomb. She couldn't make any handsigns and she only had one jutsu that could be used without handsigns.**

 **Her clones were being wiped out, so she had to try it before they were gone and her friends and teachers were at the unknown attacker's mercy. She focussed on her chakra and kneaded it before opening her mouth at the attacker.**

 **"Suiton: Teppōdama! (Water Style Liquid Bullets!)" She mouthed before firing three fast moving balls of water at the man, who had been taken off guard by the seal-less jutsu. He dodged one on pure reflex, but was struck on the mask and in the chest by the remaining two, sending him flying.**

 **"Get me outta here!" Naruko ordered her two remaining clones and they hurriedly dug her out and pulled her up.**

 **Meanwhile the other members of Team 8, plus Anko, having regained control of their bodies were struggling to get out of the bonds that Naruko's clones had tied them with. The Nawanuke no Jutsu (Rope Escape Jutsu) was only working slowly and they were helpless to aid their friend/subordinate as she once more faced off against the man who attacked her.**

 **The man had regained his footing and the Kitsune mask, badly damaged by the Teppōdama, was cracking and crumbling away to reveal…**

 **"…Cousin Haruo?!" Ino yelped in shock.**

 **Haruo ignored Ino and glared at Naruko. "How did you escape my trap, demon bitch?" He hissed at the Jinchūriki, "How?! You failed to graduate! Mizuki told me that himself!"**

 **"Trap….? Wait, my house! You did that!?" Naruko shouted, glaring at the man angrily. "I was in a meeting with my ji-chan, you bastard! And I graduated because Mizuki-teme went traitor and I kicked his ass! Just like I'm gonna kick yours for attacking my friends!"**

 **Naruko made the familiar handsign again, her anger getting so strong she instinctively added a word to her favourite jutsu.**

 **"Tajū Kage Bunshin No Jutsu! (Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!)" She yelled. In a massive explosion of smoke, an entire army of Narukos surrounded the man. The original hand signalled some to free her speechless team.**

 **Haruo looked around in shock. There had to be at least a thousand clones in the clearing. Forcing himself to calm down, Haruo smirked at Naruko.**

 **"These things may have beaten a weakling chunin like Mizuki, but I am a Jonin, demon bitch. I wont fall as easily as all that." he sneered at the red wearing kunoichi.**

 **"Then it's a good thing she has a team!" Kurenai snarled as she stepped up next to Naruko, red eyes boring into the man who dared attack her student.**

 **Anko stood on the other side of Naruko, a sadistic smile on her face as she played with a kunai.**

 **Immediately behind Naruko, Ino and Hinata glared at Haruo.**

 **Haruo feigned shock. "Oh, why didn't I think of that?"**

 **A series of popping sounds signalled the arrival of outsiders to the battle. A spinning tornado cut through the clones and stopped at the side of Haruo, revealing a man also dressed in black ANBU-style armour and wearing a blue Kitsune mask.**

 **A swirl of leaves revealed a man in white ANBU armour and a black Kitsune mask, who promptly fell into the standard kata of the Jūken.**

 **"You know, now I come to think of it - I did." Haruo sneered at Team 8.**

* * *

"And that's the end of that chapter." Yuki stated, getting a combine shout of "WHAT!" from everyone. They were not expecting that cliffhanger.

They began urging Yuki to read on, they were worried and anxious to find out what happens and who the two new attackers were, although Hinata and Neji knew one of them was a Hyuuga based on the stance he took at the end.

"Ok! Ok! I'll read the next chapter! ahem... Chapter 4: Clash! Team 8 vs. Kitsune Killers."


	5. Ch 4: Clash! Team 8 vs Kitsune Killers

Most of the group were on edge as they listened on about the group of jonin that were attacking three of their own.

Yuki downed a glass of water before he opened to the next chapter " **Chapter 4: Clash! Team 8 vs. Kitsune Killers**."

 **Kurenai frowned across the field at Yamanaka Haruo and his two accomplices. The tornado that one used to enter the field was definitely the Tsūga (Tunnelling Fang) taijutsu move of the Inuzuka Clan,**

Kiba frowned when he heard that.

 **whereas the other one was in the ready stance of the Jūken (Gentle Fist) taijutsu style of the Hyūga Clan.**

Neji frowned at what he assumed was a main branch disgracing the clan in such a way, while Hinata was worried for her other as well as her crush's other self.

 **"A Yamanaka, a Hyūga and an Inuzuka." Anko noted. She was still playing with the kunai in her hands in an unconcerned fashion. Kurenai picked up the message Anko was sending her: Two clans who had suffered almost no casualties on the Day of the Kyūbi and one that had suffered moderate casualties.**

That sent a frown across the faces of those that didn't already have one.

 _ **'The Inuzuka is probably having his rage and grief at his pack-mates being killed taken advantage of by the other two.' Kurenai thought as she drew a kunai, 'But who is actually pulling the strings here? Haruo? The Hyūga? Or is it someone else? In any case, we have to take them prisoner to find out what they know and what they have done.'**_

 **"Surrender, Haruo. The Hokage knew well in advance that you would attempt to attack us here today." Kurenai called over to the man who had dared attack her team.**

 **Haruo scoffed. "If he had evidence I had done something, I would be in T &I right now."**

 **"Just because he had no evidence does not mean he did nothing to stop you." Kurenai fired back.**

 **At that moment…**

 **"HOWL, MY YOUTH!" bellowed a green blur as it crossed the field and dodged through Naruko's one-girl army, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"**

Lee smiled "That's right Gai-sensei! Show those unyouthful shinobi the errors of their ways with your YOUTH!"

Neji and Tenten sighed at their teammate and sensei's... youthfulness *shudder*.

 **With a howl of pain, the presumptive Inuzuka was sent flying across the field by a mighty kick to the face that utterly shattered the mask he wore. The green blur responsible then moved on to the Hyūga.**

 **"Konoha Daisenkō! (Great Leaf Flash!)"**

Everybody was expecting Lee to burst into another great monologue about his sensei, however when they turned to look at him, he was currently writing down a list of taijutsu techniques and ideas to learn for later.

Where the hell did he get a notebook and pencil?

 **The blur roared and turned from a streak of green into a spinning top that sent the Hyūga flying as well, the mask hiding his identity smashed into pieces from a single, powerful kick. The blur then zoomed over and stopped next to Kurenai.**

 **Finally able to see the true form of the blur, the three genin kunoichi looked…and then wished they hadn't.**

Thankfully, Tenten had knocked Lee unconscious with a large mallet before he could go on another tirade about how they shouldn't disrespect Gai-sensei.

Yuki just wondered where the mallet came from.

He distinctly remembered removing all of the weapons the genin were carrying before they arrived.

Seriously, he may be the Multiverse God of Space, but not even he knows where women keep those things!

 **The blur was a tall, muscular man in a green spandex leotard. He wore orange legwarmers and a red hitai-ate around his waist acting as a belt for some reason. He also had on a flak jacket that showed he was at least chunin rank.**

Yuki stopped and looked at the two conscious members of Team 9 "How do they even put those spandex leotards on anyways? There doesn't appear to be any zippers or the like on it."

Tenten and Neji both deadpanned and spoke at the same time, "You don't want to know."

 **The freakiest part about the man was his head. He had shiny black hair in a bowl cut and thick eyebrows that seemed to move with a life of their own.**

Tenten quickly covered her mouth to suppress the snort that came out at that observation. She was only semi-successful however.

 **Hinata blanched and was eternally grateful that she was a Hyūga, and not an Uchiha at that moment because the Byakugan didn't have any memorisation capability like the Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye) had.**

Sasuke was not that lucky.

 **Ino's internal 'fashion disaster' alarm was ringing at top volume and she immediately forgave Naruko for having worn the orange jumpsuit in the past, as it was nowhere near as horrifyingly awful as the outfit she saw before her right now.**

Ino was feeling the same way as her counterpart.

Yuki brought up a strange pattern of shapes made up of thin rectangles of various shades of dark green and grey on the screen "Thinking on it, Gai and Lee's outfits might look a bit better if they used this pattern instead of the regular green. Folks back home refer to it as Digital Camouflage. it's used by some military to break up a person's shape and vary in colours depending on the terrain."

That got Ino's fashionista side in overdrive coming up with ideas for the pattern.

 **Naruko's face was utterly blank, echoed by her Shadow Clone 'Army-of-One.' She had worn a kill-me-now-orange jumpsuit that made her look like a walking traffic cone and she hadn't looked half as bad as this person did right now.**

A sentiment shared by the gathered genin.

 **She immediately made a mental note to ask her Ji-chan to ban green spandex leotards from Konoha.**

Yuki muttered under his breath. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had already tried..."

 **"YOSH! A most youthful day to you all!" the bushy browed man greeted Team 8 in an obnoxiously loud and exuberant voice, "I am glad to see that your youth has not been dampened by these most unyouthful of foes."**

Words of sympathy were given to Tenten and Neji for having to deal with that for a year.

 **"Err…Kurenai-sensei….who is this guy?" Naruko asked, her eyebrow twitching slightly.**

 **"My pardon! How unyouthful of me not to introduce myself!" the green clad man shouted before Kurenai could say anything, "I am known as Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, Maito Gai! May you be ever youthful, young one!"**

Others seemed to be catching Naruko's eyebrow twitch

"Is he... always like that?" Naruto asked nervously as he looked at Tenten, his pity increasing when he got her nod in reply.

 **"Uh-huh…right." Anko said, her own eyebrow twitching slightly now, "Listen Gai, could you handle the Hyūga, while me and Nai-chan take care of the Inuzuka?"**

 **"Who will take care of Haruo?" asked Kurenai. Anko gestured to Naruko, Ino and Hinata.**

 **"You can't be serious! He's an assassination specialist!" Kurenai said, red eyes boring into her friends honey brown eyes.**

 **"He's also out numbered kami-knows-how-many to one, Nai-chan." Anko pointed out, gesturing to the horde of Naruko's around them, "And I think Naruko-chan here could keep popping 'em out all day long."**

"Geez, make it sound like my other is a slut why don't ya..." mumbled Naruto, getting everyone who was standing to stumble, despite the fact they weren't moving... odd...

 **Shifting her stance slightly, she put her game face (read: sadistic) on and looked at the genin. "Alright Gakis. Here is your first A-Rank Mission as a team: capture Yamanaka Haruo alive. Break his arms and legs if you have to, but he has to be alive, got it?"**

 **"Hell yeah! I owe this guy some payback for destroying my old home and making Ino-chan and Hinata-chan hurt each other!" Naruko growled as she drew a kunai.**

"Break his legs!" Naruto growled out.

Meanwhile in another universe, an orange haired grenade launcher/hammer wielding girl sneezed into her pancakes.

 **Ino nodded. "No-one blows up my friends house and gets away with it! Besides, my cheek is still sore from Hinata-chan's backhand."**

 **"G-gomenasai, Ino-chan." Hinata said as she shifted to an aggressive Jūken stance, "b-but my stomach is also still sore f-from your kick."**

 **"You owe me some red bean soup and I'll stand you a few at the bakery that makes your favourite cinnamon buns, OK?" Ino said as she drew a kunai as well.**

Yuki smirked "Thank the gods that you stated a few there Ino. Hinata can put away cinnamon buns like Naruto does Ramen."

Ino gulped while some of the genin looked at the Indigo haired girl incredulously all the while said girl was inventing a new shade of red.

 **"Yosh! Kurenai-san, your genin are most youthful!" Gai said exuberantly, "I shall burn my youthful flames to equal theirs or I shall run a hundred laps around Konoha on one hand!"**

Everyone sweat-dropped upon hearing that, which grew upon seeing Tenten and Neji's reactions.

 **"Right. Let's just kick their asses already." Anko said as she ran to where the Inuzuka was getting up, swearing like a sailor.**

 **"Indeed. Let us display our Flames of Youth for all to see!" shouted Gai as he ran to intercept the Hyūga before he could rejoin Haruo.**

 **Kurenai sighed. Oh hell. Looking at her so-new-they-still-squeak team, she read the determination in their faces. "Be careful." was all she said before rushing to join Anko.**

* * *

 **With Gai**

 **"Stand aside. The demon vessel must be slain." the Hyūga said in a monotone. He was of the Main Family, Gai could see from his unmarked forehead. He was probably in his mid-twenties.**

Kiba and Akamaru weren't the only ones that were growling at this point.

 **Gai frowned. "This is most unyouthful of you. Young Naruko is not the fox; she is the container of it."**

 **"Indeed." Agreed the Hyūga, surprising Gai slightly, "I have observed the seal with my Byakugan. It is utterly impossible for the Kyūbi to break out."**

 **"Then why do you do this?" asked Gai as he slid smoothly into his Gōken stance.**

 **"Her very presence corrupts and taints the sanctity of Hinata-sama." The Hyūga replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. He also slid into his ready stance, that of the Jūken.**

Neji scoffed and muttered several unflattering things about the main branch.

Yuki heard all of them of course and spoke up "Despite what you think Neji, Hinata's probably the only one that isn't like that. In fact, I find it highly moronic of you for blaming Hinata for the death of your father. How you expect a three year old to defend herself against a jonin when she was asleep and in her own bed is beyond me."

He ignored the sputtering Neji and went back to the story.

 **"Nonsense." Gai said dismissively, "If anything Naruko's presence causes Hinata-sama's youthful flames to reach new heights."**

 **"It would seem we are at an impasse." Observed the Hyūga as he tensed his body for combat.**

 **"So it would seem." agreed Gai. The air around the two of them was thick and dense, with both chakra and tension.**

 **A solitary leaf fluttered between the two and slowly drifted down to the ground between the two ninja. As it touched the ground, it was ripped into shreds by the clash between the two opposing taijutsu styles.**

* * *

 **With Kurenai and Anko**

 **"Outta the way!" The Inuzuka growled, "I'm gonna rip the fox into pieces and feed them to it which she's still breathing!"**

 **"Hmmm…not imaginative enough." Anko said critically, "It's been done before."**

Everyone sweat-dropped at Anko's blasé attitude.

 **"Anko," Kurenai said with a sweatdrop, "I don't think you should be critiquing him on his torture methods!"**

 **"Y'think?" Anko asked with a pout, "But Nai-chan, everything he suggests is sooo boring! No imagination at all!"**

 **"Oi!" Yelled the Inuzuka, looking offended. Anko ignored him.**

 **Kurenai sighed and looked at the Inuzuka. "Naruko isn't the fox. She is the fox's jailer."**

 **"I don't give a crap!" The Inuzuka snarled back, "If she dies, the fox dies. It's as simple as that."**

 **"Then why isn't your ninken here with you?" Anko asked pointedly, making the brash man flinch, "He refused to come because he knew you were wrong, jackass."**

Kiba just shook his head in disappointment, not even he was that stupid.

 **"Tsūga!" The Inuzuka yelled as he attacked.**

 **"Idiot." Anko said as she dodged to the side.**

* * *

 **Back with the Genin and the Naruko Army….**

 **"One chance, Yamanaka Haruo. Surrender." Naruko said flatly.**

 **"Or what? Your little army will prank me to death?" Haruo scoffed dismissively, "You are no kunoichi, demon bitch. You have a couple of tricks, but that doesn't make you a shinobi."**

 **"She's no traitor like you are at least!" Ino shouted at her distant cousin, "She's never attack fellow Konoha Ninja like you did with the Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Destruction Jutsu)!"**

 **"You don't know what you're talking about, brat." Haruo growled.**

 **"Illuminate me." Ino challenged him.**

 **Haruo chuckled darkly. "No can do. It is an S-Rank secret, punishable by an extremely painful death if revealed. Besides, I'm a loyal ninja of Konoha."**

Yuki was heard muttering again "Just goes to show you how stupid people become when they succumb to their own hatred and bigoted beliefs."

 **"Tch. Yeah right!" muttered, Ino, as her mind raced. S-Rank? Naruko had done something that deserved that high a secrecy classification?**

 **"Ino-chan, ignore him." Naruko said firmly. "He's spewing poison because he knows that he's finished, 'loyal ninja of Konoha' or not."**

 **"N-Naruko-chan's right." Hinata said, "W-we should capture him before he tries anymore Yamanaka Clan Jutsu."**

 **"Right." Ino said shaking her head to clear it. What was she thinking, listening to the taunts of the enemy? She gripped the kunai she held in her hand tighter. She was about to charge the traitor to her clan when a Naruko-clone leaned in to whisper into her ear.**

 **"We clones will be the cannon fodder. We are far more easily replaced than you or Hinata-chan." the clone whispered.**

 **A shiver went down her spine as the clone's whispered words tickled her ear. 'What the heck?' she thought with a small blush.**

Everyone was looking at Ino, their expressions making her blush and shrink a little, she liked being the center of attention, but this was something new that she wasn't ready for.

 **"Alright, first wave: Attack!" Naruko commanded. A hundred clones charged forward at the Yamanaka jonin with a roar.**

 **Haruo beat off clone after clone with punches and kicks. When only a small group remained, he flipped through some handsigns.**

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!)"**

Yuki stopped Sasuke as the boy was about to open his mouth and complain "It's not an Uchiha clan jutsu Sasuke; it's actually a rather common fire element jutsu. It's just that the Uchiha taught it as a young age as a coming of age practice. Others don't normally use it until they hit chunin and start elemental training."

 **He said as he raised his hand to his mouth and shot a fairly large ball of fire at the clones, destroying them.**

 **Naruko stood with her arms crossed and her head cocked to one side, watching the jonin. Finally, she said, "You know, for a jonin, you aren't as…fast…as I would have thought."**

* * *

 **With Gai**

 **The two combatants separated from their clash, the Hyūga being thrown back by a snap kick to the jaw, while Gai leapt back gracefully to land in his original pose again.**

 **Spitting out some blood, the Hyūga got to his feet, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you? The Jūken is the supreme taijutsu style in all of Konoha, if not the world, yet you dodge my blows as if they were nothing." he said angrily.**

Yuki deadpanned at Neji "And to think Neji that you are guilty of the same arrogance as most of the main branch you so vehemently despise."

You'd think he got some form of amusement seeing the Hyūga boy sputter like that.

 **"I am Maito Gai, the acknowledged Taijutsu Master of Konoha." Gai said seriously, "I am also Jonin-sensei to the Hyūga Prodigy, Hyūga Neji, thus my knowledge of the Jūken surpasses that of any other non-Hyūga."**

 **"The Branch House whelp." The Hyūga sneered, "Well, we shall see how you fair when I am using this: Byakugan!"**

 **Settling into a more aggressive stance, the Hyūga said, "I am Hyūga Arashi of the Main Family. Prepare to die."**

 **Shaking his head sorrowfully, Gai said, "You are most unyouthful. It seems I must beat some youth into you."**

Both Tenten and Neji seemed to be torn between wanting to pray for this Hyūga Arashi's soul or not.

 **"Try if you can." The Hyūga said scornfully before the two blurred into motion once again.**

* * *

 **With Anko and Kurenai**

 **When the Inuzuka stopped spinning and landed after his Tsūga, Anko was ready with a favourite technique of hers.**

 **"Sen'eijashu! (Striking Shadow Snakes!)" Anko hissed, thrusting her arm out. Four snakes emerged from her sleeve, wrapped around the Inuzuka and sank their fangs into him.**

 **"AAARRRGGGHHH! Snake Whore!" The Inuzuka snarled, "Tsūga!"**

 **The desperation move worked, shredding the snakes into pieces, but ripped the wounds from the snake fangs open in the process.**

 **"That's it. Keep moving." Anko crooned at the panting man, "The more you move, the faster the venom in your blood will spread."**

 **"You did remember to use non-lethal venom didn't you?" Kurenai asked suspiciously.**

 **"Of course I did Nai-chan!" Anko retorted indignantly, and then paused, "At least…I think I did…meh. As long as we get him the antivenin, he'll be fine."**

Yuki snorted quietly to himself, he always found it a wandering mind's curiosity that it was referred to as antivenin instead of anti-venom.

 **"Damn you!" The Inuzuka roared, "How dare you treat Inuzuka Shippo like this! Tenga! (Rotating Fang!)" He spun vertically this time rather than on his horizontal axis, becoming a giant buzz saw aimed at Anko.**

Kiba began to sweat heavily, he had heard of Inuzuka Shippo and may have idolized the man at one point when he was little, but that had been swiftly crushed when he found out that his views on women got a client killed and the man was subsequently neutered by Kiba's mother as punishment.

 **She quickly Kawarimi'd (Substituted) with a nearby branch and was interested to see the branch reduced to so much sawdust.**

 **Turning to Kurenai with a forced smile on her face, Anko said, "Nai-chan, a bit of help here?"**

 **"The things I do for you Anko…" Kurenai sighed as she weaved handsigns.**

everyone looked around curiously when a voice sounded from everywhere and nowhere around them "The things I do for love..." only Yuki recognized the voice as an off-coloured scaredy dog.

* * *

 **Back with Naruko…**

 **Haruo raised an eyebrow, "Say what?"**

 **"Either you're holding back or you plain suck as a jonin." Naruko said insultingly. "You were barely moving faster than my clones and while that fireball was way bigger than anything Sasuke-teme ever did, it was still far from the biggest I've ever seen."**

Everyone looked at Naruto.

"What? Mid-fight banter is important!"

 **"Who made a bigger Gōkakyū than mine?" Haruo asked, insulted.**

 **"Sandaime-ji-chan." Naruko said. "He took me to his personal training field once as a birthday treat and showed me some of his favourite jutsu. The Gōkakyū was one of them and his was twice the size of yours, at least."**

 **Ino and Hinata looked awed. The Third Hokage was reputed to know every non-Kekkei Genkai Jutsu in Konoha. It was one reason why he was nicknamed 'Hakase' (Professor). To be shown some of his best jutsu was a tremendous honour, and he had done it as a treat for a little girl's birthday?**

When the others saw Naruto nod to the unanswered question, they were equally awed.

 **"Damn brat!" Haruo growled and started to run at the red clad kunoichi.**

 **"Second wave, now!" Naruko commanded. A hundred shadow clones formed up in front of their original and her team and each threw either kunai or shuriken at Haruo, and then clapped their hands.**

 **"Futon: Reppūshō no Jutsu! (Wind Style: Gale Palm Jutsu!)" The hundred Shadow Clones chanted, causing a massive blast of wind to erupt from their hands. It swept towards Haruo and impacted on the weapons, speeding them up considerably.**

 **"Shit! Doton: Doryūheki no Jutsu! (Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!)" Haruo yelped in surprise as he slammed his hands on the ground, causing a section of the ground to erupt upwards in front of him just in time to block the incoming rain of metallic death. Haruo gulped when he heard the shuriken and kunai thud into the wall, as well as the fierce wind blowing over the wall.**

 ** _'That makes two elemental jutsu she's used now, and she used the first one without any handsigns! Where the hell did she learn them?'_ The jonin thought frantically.**

 **Naruko's team were asking their teammate the same thing.**

 **"Oh, those? Part of my inheritance was a Jutsu Library. Last night, I was up late practicing those two jutsu with a couple of hundred Kage Bunshin, which lets me learn things faster, sorta. Anyway, I only have those two down, so we'll have to get serious now." Naruko said with a slight frown.**

 **"That seemed plenty serious to me." Ino said looking at the earth wall studded with weaponry.**

* * *

 **With Gai**

 **The two battling ninja moved so gracefully that, were it not for the fact that they were trying to do serious harm to one another, it might even be called a work of art.**

Yuki was kinda thankful that this was a pocket dimension. One does not mention art without a chance of invoking Deidara to appear and blow shit up.

 **Kicks were lashed out, only to be dodged or blocked. Punches were countered, jabs were exchanged, all taking place at a speed that most shinobi would find hard to match for any length of time.**

 **The two combatants separated once again, with the Hyūga looking frustrated.**

 ** _'How can this be? I cannot close even one of his tenketsu. It's almost like fighting Hiashi-sama; he knows precisely how I'm going to move even as I decide to do it.'_ Hyūga Arashi thought angrily, _'Fine. He leaves me no choice.'_**

Naruto scoffed quietly to himself "arrogant much…?"

 **Gai, on the other hand, was enjoying himself immensely. _'Ah, now this is most youthful! A clash of warriors fighting for dominance over the other! I should really challenge my eternal rival to another match soon.'_**

You could almost hear the calls of youth through the dimensional walls.

 **Elsewhere, Hatake Kakashi shivered as he had a bad feeling Gai was thinking about challenging him to another 'youthful contest.'**

That got chuckles from Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke just has a smirk play across his lips.

 **"Stubborn, aren't you?" Arashi said as he glared at the spandex-clad ninja.**

 **"I have been called such before, by unyouthful people such as you." Gai conceded.**

 **"Humph. You would do well to stand aside now; else you shall not live to regret your defiance." Arashi said pointedly.**

 **"That I doubt." Gai chuckled humourlessly, "Such words have been spoken to me by far more fearsome foes than you, and yet here I stand."**

 **"They were not of the Hyūga Clan." Arashi said arrogantly. "Now…you are within range of my divination." The Hyūga adopted a low stance with a hand extended before him and the other arched behind him.**

 **"Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō! (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!)" Arashi said coldly as he began the signature attack of the Hyūga Main Branch…**

 **…..Only for his foe to vanish from his sight!**

"Where did he go?" Safe to say, Kiba was really getting into this.

 **Arashi could not believe it. The man he had been about to trounce with his best technique had simply vanished without a trace! Arashi pushed his Byakugan to the very limit of its range, but found no sign of his opponent anywhere within ten kilometres in any direction, which should be impossible! Only the Yondaime Hokage had ever moved such a distance in less time than it took to blink!**

 **"YOUTH!" Gai roared as he erupted from the ground beneath Arashi and grabbed him around his waist.**

 **"What the-?" Arashi got out before he was thrown to the ground and pinned there.**

 **"Jibun Rūru! (One's Own Rule!)" Gai roared as he head butted the Hyūga in the stomach.**

 **"If I can't do 100 push-ups in five seconds…Cossack dance time!" The spandex-clad ninja declared.**

Yuki made a screen appear as he played the Video game clip of the same attack.

 **Moving so fast he blurred, pushing up and down with incredible speed, head butting the Hyūga in the stomach every time he lowered himself.**

 **"VICTORY!" Gai celebrated. He had succeeded in his self-appointed challenge! Then he noticed his 'training partner' staggering to his feet clutching his stomach. Grinning with those shiny teeth of his, he spun in a miniature twister.**

 **"Konoha Seishun Ekusasaizu! (Leaf Youth Exercise!)" Gai yelled enthusiastically as he kicked the still recovering Hyūga with the full force of his muscles and the centrifugal force of the spin, sending him crashing into a tree, blissfully unconscious.**

Once again, Lee was busy writing all of the 'Youthful' new taijutsu moves down.

 **The spandex clad ninja wiped off the remains of dirt from his jumpsuit. It had been a while since he had used ninjutsu. His Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu) was the perfect way to sneak up on a Hyūga.**

Everyone perked up upon hearing that, while Neji and Hinata started to sweat a little.

 **Rather than a perfect sphere as most would believe, the Byakugan only gave them a large 'dome' of sight, most of that directed to the sky and 360-degrees around them, leaving only a small amount of sight beneath the earth, reaching perhaps three feet down at most. A glaring weakness and one that the Branch Family was well aware of. Evidently, the Main Family was unaware of this weakness.**

Neji glared at everyone in the room, lacing his next words with killing intent. "And that information better not spread from this room!" the following 'or else' was left unspoken.

 **"Hmmm." Gai regarded the defeated form of his opponent with a slight frown, "I may have overdone it just a touch…"**

Wow, even the emotionally 'stunted' individuals deadpanned at that one.

* * *

 **With Anko and Kurenai**

 **"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu. (Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu.)" Kurenai whispered as she completed her handsigns.**

 **To Shippo, she vanished in a swirl of leaves. He looked around groggily as he felt himself getting weaker. The venom in his body was beginning to affect his body more and more, making his head spin. He had to wrap this up quickly.**

 **Suddenly the world turned red. Blood appeared on the ground, next to dead bodies, ones he recognised easily as they bore the fang-tattoo marks of the Inuzuka on their faces. Shippo looked around in horror, seeing the entire Inuzuka Clan, ninken and all, lying dead around him, cut to pieces.**

 **The shock of his worst fear, the one thing he fervently wished to never see, combined with the venom Anko's snakes had injected into him was too much for him. Shippo's last thought before he fell into unconsciousness was _'I really hate genjutsu, damn it…'_**

The only thing Naruto agreed with Shippo over, to be sure.

 **As Inuzuka Shippo collapsed, Kurenai was grateful for the fact. The look of sheer broken despair on his face at whatever it was he saw under the genjutsu's effect had been startlingly bleak.**

Ino interrupted "Wait, I thought that Genjutsu involved making the person see what you want them to see."

"That may be the case, however quite a few Genjutsu leave the images up to the victim's imaginations against them. It's why Genjutsu is such a dangerous art to go up against. The only art to my knowledge that has more versatility with each technique than Genjutsu, is Fūinjutsu. Something that made the Uzumaki clan one of the most feared Clans, period." That information caught Naruto's attention and the boy made a mental note to check up on that.

 **Then again, she had never used this particular genjutsu on an Inuzuka before, so Kurenai supposed that this was useful information.**

 **Anko tied the comatose Inuzuka up with some escape-proof rope she carried around with her on the off chance of something like this happening. The T &I kunoichi grinned at her friend.**

 **"Boy, am I glad that you asked me to help with your genin Nai-chan. I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" Anko said with relish.**

Sakura screeched out incredulously "THAT was fun?"

 **Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Only you would find being attacked by two jonin and a chunin with the intent of killing one of your students fun."**

Sakura blushed at having her rhetorical question answered by the story like that.

 **Anko looked serious for a moment. "I think they were going to try and kill all of us, Nai-chan. There's no way that the other two gakis would stand by and let their friend's death go un-avenged and you and me would be right there next to 'em, you know that."**

 **Kurenai frowned and conceded the point to her friend. "I suppose.."**

 **She was interrupted by the incoming green blur that was Maito Gai. He appeared with his usual shiny grin and had a beaten and battered Hyūga in one hand.**

 **"Kami, Gai, don't you think you when just a little overboard on him?" Kurenai said as she massaged her temples to try to stave off the incipient headache she had.**

 **Gai smiled somewhat sheepishly and opened his mouth to say something, when a howling gale of wind blew past the three jonin, staggering them.**

 **"What the hell was that?" asked Anko as she smoothed her ruffled trench coat back into its usual appearance.**

 **"It came from were the children are fighting Haruo." Kurenai said, worry in her voice.**

That got everyone's attention and they became even more focused on the events of the story.

 **"I am sure they are doing most youthfully well, Kurenai-san!" Gai boomed in his 'nice guy' pose, "Let us go and observe their youthful flames explode!"**

 **"Uh-huh, yeah, whatever." Anko said absently as she tied up the Hyūga. Not that the guy was going anywhere, as badly beaten as he was. He would need a quick trip to the hospital before he could be interrogated.**

* * *

 **With Naruko and Friends**

 **Haruo decided that enough was enough. The damn demon bitch had made him look stupid in the last two minutes and he was getting worried about his compatriots. He was neither as insular and arrogant as Arashi, nor as stupid and brash as Shippo. He knew who and what Maito Gai was. While he was confident in his own skill enough to face a freshly promoted Jonin and the Snake Whore at once, he was not stupid enough to face an Elite Jonin on top of that.**

 **He just hoped Arashi could hold out until he did what needed to be done. Haruo formed the Tiger Handsign and began gathering and compressing chakra for the jutsu that he hoped would slay the demon bitch for once and for all.**

 **Naruko could feel the chakra being built up by Haruo. There was so much of it that the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. It wasn't anywhere near Kage level, but it was becoming dense enough that it made up for its lack of quantity with its quality.**

 **"Take Hinata-chan and Ino-chan a safe distance away from here!" Naruko ordered some of her clones, voice sharp with tension.**

 **"No way!" Ino protested, "We're a team! We'll fight this guy together, Naruko!"**

Ino was just as protestant as her other "That's right!"

 **Ignoring Ino, Naruko looked at Hinata. "Hinata-chan, what's that guy doing with his chakra?"**

 **Hinata paused then said, "Byakugan!" and looked in the direction Haruo's Doryūheki was and gasped. "H-He's concentrating his chakra in his lungs. I-I think it's fire-natured!"**

 **"That's why you need to get out of here!" Naruko said to Ino urgently, but she could tell from the set of her jaw that the stubborn Yamanaka wouldn't budge willingly.**

Sakura turned to her rival "And that's a good way to get cooked Ino. If you wanted to get your team roast pig, that's not the way to do it."

Ino turned red with anger, and was about to argue with Sakura but was interrupted as Yuki continued.

 **Nodding to her Shadow Clones, Naruko turned away as Ino and Hinata were bodily picked up and carried away, despite their protests, by several of them.**

 **Just as the group of shadow clones reached the edge of the field, Haruo roared the name of his best jutsu as he used it.**

 **"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!)" Came from behind the earth wall before it was blown apart by an enormous ball of flames shaped like a snarling dragon.**

For some strange reason, Sasuke had his own notebook and wrote down the jutsu to check out for later.

 **It sped at Naruko's location with impressive speed, burning the grass up to three meters away as it passed.**

 **The dragon burned through Shadow Clones as they attempted to block it until it finally reached where Naruko stood impassively, whereupon it exploded on contact with the earth, creating a huge blast that sent heat across the entire field.**

Most gasped, and the girls had tears in their eyes, thinking they had just seen the end of Naruko.

 **"NARUKOOOOO!" Hinata and Ino screamed in horror at having witnessed their teammates burned to a crisp before them. Around them, the mass of Naruko-clones dispersed in puffs of chakra smoke.**

 **The three jonin watching were horrified at the sight of the pyre that was where Naruko once stood.**

The boys had their heads dipped in solemn silence. Naruto had his eyes glued to Yuki, waiting for him to continue.

 **Haruo, on the other hand, stood up shakily. He had used up far too much chakra using that Katon jutsu and knew he would not get away. Nevertheless, it would be worth it. He had finally done it!**

 **"Aha…ahahahahahahahahaha!" Haruo laughed hysterically, "I did it! The demon bitch is dead! Not even her bones remain! Ahahahahaha!"**

 **Ino and Hinata charged at the man who so ruthlessly slain their teammate and even dared to insult her even in death. Ino tried to kick him, but Haruo caught her leg and threw her away dismissively.**

 **Hinata, who had instinctively activated her Byakugan in her rage, snarled out the traditional start of the 'Hyūga Final Move' declaration that Arashi had used not five minutes ago, even as she assumed the same stance he had.**

 **"You are within range of my divination! Jūkenhō: Hakke Sanjūni Shō! (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams, Thirty-Two Palms!)" Hinata growled out, making Haruo's eyes widen in surprise. According to the scuttlebutt around town, as well as Arashi, the Hyūga Heiress was unskilled in the family art and had not been taught anything more than the basic kata as a result.**

"Way to prove the asshats wrong Hinata." Yuki stated with a smile, attempting to break the tense sadness.

It didn't work.

 **"Nishō! (Two Palms!)" Yelled Hinata, striking at Haruo's forearms, sealing the tenketsu.**

 **"Yonshō! (Four Palms!)" Two more consecutive strikes across the chest.**

 **"Hachishō! (Eight Palms!)" Four strikes to the abdomen.**

 **"Jūrokushō! (Sixteen Palms!)" Eight strikes to the upper legs and arms.**

 **"Hakke, Sanjūni Shō! (Eight Trigrams, Thirty-Two Palms!)" Hinata screamed as she dealt the last sixteen blows all across the man's body, the sheer force of the chakra blasting him back slightly.**

 ** _'D-Damn! I can barely feel my arms and legs! I can't channel chakra at all!'_ Haruo thought angrily as he fell to his knees.**

 **Hinata, panting at the effort, glared at Haruo. "Why…? Why did you kill her?!" she demanded harshly, tears flowing freely. Ino walked up beside her, her own eyes damp with tears, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.**

 **"She deserved to die!" Haruo spat back, "She killed my mother twelve years ago!"**

 **"SHE WAS JUST A BABY THEN, YOU FOOL!" Hinata screeched back, incensed by the man's seeming stupidity. She raised her hand to deliver the final blow, when a loud screaming sound reached her ears. It sounded strangely familiar.**

 **"….AAAAAGGGHHHH! I'mgonnadie, I'mgonnadie!" could be heard across the entire field but, Hinata couldn't see anyone. She jumped when Ino's hand suddenly tightened painfully on her shoulder.**

Everyone turned to look at Yuki so quickly he thought they'd get whiplash.

 **"Look!" The Yamanaka shouted as she pointed at the sky. Hinata whirled around and used the telescopic vision of her Byakugan to zoom in on a rapidly falling dot in the sky.**

 **"Naruko…?" Hinata breathed hopefully.**

Hinata looked just as hopeful, most were holding their breath in worry and anticipation.

* * *

 **With Naruko**

 **Uzumaki Naruko, albeit somewhat burnt and sooty, was perfectly fine. If you could call plummeting to her death from kami-knows-how-high in the sky 'fine'.**

Yuki noticed the looks he was getting "It's what it says..."

 ** _'Yeah…really got to work on my chakra control…and on my impulsiveness…before it kills me…if I survive this…'_ Naruko thought in a surprisingly calm way, even as she screamed her plentiful lungs out, as she thought back to a couple of minutes ago.**

 **{Flashback}**

 **Naruko had her arms crossed as she watched the incoming fireball that Yamanaka Haruo had fired at her approach. She noted, almost distantly, that such was the heat of the Gōryūka that her clones were being destroyed even as it touched them.**

 **'Well, this is a pickle.' Naruko thought clinically, _'None of my jutsu will work on this thing. Heck, the Reppūshō will just make it worse. It's way too fast and big to dodge either. What should I do here?'_**

The genin scooted to the edge of their seats,

 **Naruko frowned slightly before she had an idea. _'Wait. Ji-chan told me once that channelling chakra to your limbs makes them much stronger, but you need to have good chakra control or you can rip your muscles and tendons apart.'_**

 **Weighing her choices for a split second -Get burned to ash or possibly not be able to move for a while until the damn fox heals her up- Naruko chose the obvious one.**

 ** _'Here goes nothing!'_ she thought as the burning hot aura of the powerful jutsu washed over her. Waiting until the last possible second, Naruko squatted, channelled as much chakra to her legs as she could, and then jumped up with all her strength.**

 **She moved in a red blur that none of the others on the field saw as they had been focussing on the Gōryūka before it impacted on where she had been standing. Her chakra was so disturbed by sudden shift that her clones were dispelled. She flew high up into the sky, out of the sensor bubble that detected all things coming into Konoha and up further into the sky.**

 **Her legs burnt with pain beyond anything that Naruko had felt during her training, so she guessed that she had indeed damaged her muscles somewhat.**

 **That could wait until later. The more important thing right now was to stop going higher, or she might die once she came back to earth. She discarded several possible ideas involving Kage Bunshin before hitting on an idea that might work.**

 **"Futon: Reppūshō!" Naruko said, deliberately using more chakra than she needed to use in the jutsu. The result sent her falling back to earth like a cannon shot.**

 **"AAAAAGGGHHHH! I'mgonnadie, I'mgonnadie!" She screamed as the training field came into sight once again.**

And despite that they heard it before, the group faceplanted at the situation.

 **{Flashback End}**

 ** _'Maybe I should have tried just the regular amount of chakra.'_ Naruko thought as she fell further towards the field. Definitely something to think about if this happens again. Naruko peered at the field intently.**

 **Naruko's eyes, while not telescopic like the Byakugan, were still very sharp so she could see the field fairly well by this point,**

Those that had looked at Naruto were surprised when he nodded in agreement, he had that too. 'Huh...' the blond boy though to himself 'And here I thought that everyone had that...'

 **including the people in it. She focussed on the amazing sight of kind, gentle Hinata beat Haruo up with the taijutsu move she had been struggling to learn in secret, so she could impress her father.**

Hinata blushed at the praise and buried her face in Naruto's sleeve, getting a couple of chuckles from the group.

 **She screamed again and saw her teammates turn to look at her. She thought that they had been crying, which was sad. She was certain that Ino was going to kick her ass when she got down, maybe Hinata and Kurenai-sensei as well.**

 **Naruko's eyes widened as she saw Haruo attempt to stand up. He was shaking off the effects of Hinata's Hakke Sanjūni Shō already? That shouldn't be possible. It might not be as strong as the Rokujūyon Shō, but the lesser version was still debilitating enough to disable a jonin-level ninja for at least half an hour, or so Hinata said she had read in the scroll.**

 **Deciding that the how of the matter was unimportant for now, Naruko decided to take the bastard out before he tried to hurt her friends again. Making a pair of shadow clones, she had them throw her feet first at Haruo, followed by a Futon: Reppūshō to speed her up a bit.**

 **"Ino, Hinata, MOVE! NOW!" she roared as she started spinning like an Inuzuka.**

Kiba paled a little "Is she...?"

* * *

 **With Hinata and Ino**

 **When Hinata heard Naruko talk to her, she was giddy that she was still alive. When Naruko addressed her without honorifics, she almost fainted. But when Naruko ordered her to move in that tone of voice, she moved without even thinking about it, grabbing Ino and jumping to the side.**

 **She saw Naruko start to spin in a similar fashion to the Inuzuka Clan technique Tsūga and wondered why. Then Naruko's voice resonated over the field.**

 **"Uzumaki Taijutsu Ōgi: Rasentenkyaku! (Uzumaki Taijutsu Secret Technique: Spiral Heaven Kick!)"**

* * *

Off somewhere in Fire Country

Tsunade looked up off in the distance suddenly, prompting Shizune to ask "What's wrong Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade stared for a bit more before turning her attention back to her apprentice "I don't know... it just feels like someone ripped off one of my moves..."

* * *

Back with the group

Yuki paused for a second, as if seeing something that wasn't there before going back to the book.

 **Was heard by everyone just before the spinning form of Naruko slammed into its target -Yamanaka Haruo, who had just made it to his feet and drawn a kunai.**

 **Totally unprepared for the sudden impact, Haruo was caught in the chest by the kick, which had had it's power increased by the throw of the clones, the Reppūshō and the spin, so it was not surprising that the man was sent flying back across the field to slam into a tree, which cracked under the impact.**

 **Naruko, on the other hand, had kicked off of Haruo just before he slammed into the tree and had landed somewhat awkwardly on the ground. Panting with the exertion, she looked up as her other team members ran over, along with her two sensei and the weird man in spandex.**

Lee was crying at the youthfulness of the move Naruko used, and with slight jealously that he would not be able to use it (he was a firm believer in not stealing the youthfulness of others moves unless you get permission first).

 **"H-Hey." Naruko said with a pained smile. Her legs were really sore right now.**

 **"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Ino shouted at her angrily, fresh tears falling from her eyes as relief made itself known, "You damn well almost died! What were you thinking?!"**

 **"T-That you should have run when I had told you."**

Ino squirmed under the 'I-told-you-so' glare both Naruto and Sakura were giving her.

 **Naruko said bluntly, a grimace crossing her face as she tried -and failed- to stand up, "If you'd moved as soon as I told you to, I would have been able to do something other than almost die there."**

 **"Brat's got a point." Anko said offhandedly, "In a battle, you should obey the leader without question."**

 **"There was no leader!" Ino protested shrilly. "We're all genin."**

 **"Naruko was the one to do almost all of the fighting and all of the strategy." Anko replied looking at Naruko, who was visibly trembling now, "Right, gaki?"**

 **"I…I guess so." Naruko grunted as she gave up trying to stand and instead flopped on her behind. Her red trench coat was singed at the edge of the bottom, but not much further than that. "I didn't really have an overall strategy other than 'beat him all to hell' though."**

Sakura broke the glare and gave a sound that was half scoff and half giggle "That does sound like something you'd do Naruto."

Naruto turned away in a vain attempt to hide his blush.

 **"Doesn't matter, you were the leader." Anko said decisively as she turned to regard Ino with hard eyes, "She told you to do something because she sensed the chakra build-up for the Gōryūka. She even had your teammate tell you that a dangerous jutsu was about to be launched at her and you still refused to obey her, meaning she had to waste precious seconds to get you both to safety."**

 **Ino's face paled. "But-"**

 **"No buts. Yes, the brat did something reckless and stupid, but you did something moronic: you let your pride rule in the middle of a battle." Anko said mercilessly.**

Ino looked down sadly, _'don't need to rub it in, I feel guilty enough as it is...'_

 **Kurenai walked over from where she had been securing Haruo. "Alright, that's enough, all of you. We can continue this at a later time. For now, we need to get these three traitors to holding cells and these three genin to hospital."**

 **Naruko paled more than Ino. "Aw no, not hospital!" she whined, "I hate it there!"**

 **"Then you can consider it punishment for doing whatever it is you did that damaged your legs to the point you can barely move." Kurenai told her bluntly.**

Naruto winced at the tone his other was given.

 **"I shall take our most unyouthful prisoners to the ANBU." Gai said, doing his 'nice guy' pose yet again, "And Naruko…I shall come to talk to you about that most youthful attack you just performed. You truly are full of the Flames of Youth!"**

Naruto paled

 **With those words, he vanished in a Shunshin, taking with him the three trussed up ninja, and leaving behind one horrified Uzumaki Naruko.**

 **"AAARRGGHH!" She yelled, "Hospital and Mr Super Bushy-Brows? Someone kill me now!"**

That last line got chuckles from everyone except for Lee (who was chastising Naruto for disrespecting his sensei) and Naruto (who had passed out).

Yuki also chuckled a little and flipped to the next page "Ok, onto the next chapter: En'ō Kago-te, Secrets Revealed."


	6. Ch 5: En'o Kago-te, Secrets Revealed

**Sorry folks for the wait, just got a new job and its been keeping me busy. So updates are most likely going to be restricted to the weekends. Now on with the story.**

You could tell that Naruto was rather excited, he wanted to know what the cool gauntlet did, a sentiment that was shared with the others, more so the more... boisterous of the group.

Ah, it made him feel young seeing all of this... and now he felt old thinking that... great... Yuki shook the thoughts out of his head and turned the page "Chapter 5: En'ō Kago-te, Secrets Revealed."

 **3 Hours later**

 **Uzumaki Naruko's Private Room, Konoha Hospital**

And that killed the mood rather quick. "Y-You've been attacked enough to warrant your own room at the hospital?" Sakura asked with a worried horror in her tone.

Naruto flinched and nodded "It isn't so bad anymore; it was only like that until this really bad attack when I was five..."

That... did not make anyone feel better.

 **A pouting blond lay on the hospital bed. Naruko wanted to go home, dammit, but the damned doctors would not let her until her Ji-chan had a word with her and he was late! Her legs had stopped burning over an hour ago!**

Naruto looked just as upset as his other "I know! I've only had to spend a couple of days for broken bones, something like that shouldn't take that long..."

From the looks the others were giving him, those that could muster enough to care about his wellbeing were torn between worry about him actually getting those kind of injuries and awe at how fast he could heal. Neji was torn, he couldn't seem to figure out what Fate wanted with Naruto and it was making him question his own truths, while Sasuke was a bit jealous about Naruto's fast healing, conveniently forgetting what exactly he had to go through because of that power

Yuki was the only one that saw Sasuke's look, and began wondering how the self-proclaimed avenger would react when he finds out that Naruto's healing is actually part of the Uzumaki bloodline and the Fox only boosted it to the level it was at.

 **Naruko had always hated the hospital ever since a nurse had tried to poison her when she was four. She had survived because of her strong immune system and healing factor, or so she had been told at the time. Now she knew it was the Kyūbi's influence purging the poison from her system or something like that.**

It seems an equal amount of guilt and horror is going to be commonplace when talking about Naruto's past...

 **She was just about to try to escape, when the door opened and her Ji-chan stepped through the door, making Naruko's face light up. Finally, she could escape the hell that was hospital!**

Followed by the collective deadpan at Naruto and Naruko's reactions to said horrible situations. Naruto was just agreeing with his other. Yuki pulled out a T-shirt from somewhere and gave it to Naruto with an amused grin. He wasn't about to tell the boy that the shirt he just got was trademarked by one of his others.

The shirt had a vertical "HOSPITAL" running down the front with each letter starting its own word

 **H** orribly  
 **O** bnoxious  
 **S** melling  
 **P** lace  
 **I** nsistently  
 **T** rapping  
 **A** ll  
 **L** ocals

Naruto got a kick out of it and set it aside before turning back to the story. He was so going to wear that shirt later.

 **"Ji-chan!" she called, sitting up in bed. Sarutobi had to smile at her obvious relief at seeing him, as she knew she could only leave after talking with him.**

They just ignored Naruto grumbling about being held at the hospital like that.

 **"Well Naruko-chan, it seems that you have a habit of rooting out dissenters and traitors." Sarutobi said as he sat in the chair next to the bed with a sigh.**

 **"Ehehehehe…" Naruko grinned in embarrassment as she chuckled. "I don't mean to, Ji-chan. They just come crawling out of the woodwork."**

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "Evidently." His face then became serious. "Naruko, I will not push you, but I believe you should consider telling your teammates about your burden."**

 **Naruko paled at this suggestion. "What…! NO! No way!" she stammered in shock, "I can't! They'll hate me!"**

The others could see just how pale their Naruto's face was and they could tell that it was a real fear for the boy as well.

 **"Naruko, I was watching the entire battle between you and Yamanaka Haruo from start to finish and I can assure you that the thought of you being dead was horrific to the both of them." Sarutobi said with a frown. He had known the idea of her friends finding out about the Kyūbi would terrify her, but with the Genin Housing Act, they would all be living together and it would be close to impossible to hide it for long with Ino, the daughter of one of the best interrogators in ANBU T &I and Hinata, wielder of one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, in close contact with Naruko almost 24/7.**

That got a blush from Naruto, Hinata, and surprisingly Ino. Sakura saw and knew good blackmail material when she saw it.

 **Deciding that to put any more pressure on her would be a bad idea, Sarutobi said, "Very well. I could order you to tell them, but I won't."**

 **"Eh? Why?" Asked a visibly relieved Naruko.**

Naruto leaned forward, anxious to hear the answer to the question he himself was asking. Who knows, it might be good Hokage advice after all.

 **"A quick tip on being a leader, Naruko-chan: A good leader never issues an order to someone that they know will not be obeyed, because when the order is eventually disobeyed, it reduces the leader's credibility with their subordinates and makes them look foolish." Sarutobi said with a smile.**

 **"Hai, Ji-chan." Naruko nodded.**

 **"I will, however, ask that you keep an open mind about it." Sarutobi continued, "Spend time with them, get to know them better than you do yourself. Then think about telling them. OK?"**

 **Naruko nodded again slowly, then her eyes widened. "Ji-chan, are Ino-chan and Hinata-chan alright? They're not hurt are they?"**

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "No, no, they're both perfectly fine. Hiashi and Inoichi picked them up a while ago. They said to pass on their thanks for protecting their daughters."**

Ino smiled at the mention of her overprotective father, while Hinata had shock on her face, since she had been harboring doubts that her father cared for her at all.

 **Naruko smiled softly. "As long as my friends are fine, all's good." she whispered so quietly Sarutobi had to strain to hear her.**

 ** _'And the civilians think she's a heartless demon? Fools!'_ Sarutobi thought as he gazed at his surrogate granddaughter.**

The others were starting to think the same thing.

 **"Well then, I suppose I had better be going." he said at last as he stood up.**

 **"Hell yeah!" Naruko cheered, "I'm getting out of here!"**

 **"Ah, not yet." Sarutobi said, making her pause, then realization dawned on her with a look of horror, which grew with his next words, "I believe one Maito Gai wishes to…how did he put it….ah yes, _'Aid you in fanning your Flames of Youth'_ , I believe he said. He was most impressed by that last kick you used on Haruo."**

 **Naruko was mouthing the words 'Flames of Youth' soundlessly in abject terror.**

Both Neji and Tenten turned to Naruto with a robotic unity and stated at the same time "Welcome to our world."

 **"Oh yes. I'll be coming over today to summon Enma and Enki as I have a feeling you'll be busy tomorrow." Sarutobi said with a grin before vanishing in a Shunshin.**

 **Before Naruko could do more than blink, a familiar figure in a green spandex leotard ran into the room, bellowing, "HELLO, NARUKO-SAN AND A MOST YOUTHFUL GREETING TO YOU!"**

Despite Neji's emotionless countenance, he let a smirk play across his lips at the abject horror that spread across Naruto's face when he saw Gai's... outfit of choice.

 **The yell, "Damn it all, Ji-chan!" swiftly followed the first yell with admirable alacrity.**

* * *

 **Dining Room, Yamanaka Flower Shop, around the same time…**

Ino perked up upon hearing that.

 **Ino sat at the dining table, a scowl across her pretty face as she looked at the table moodily. She had tried to see Naruko after she had had her check-up, but both Hinata and herself had been told she wasn't allowed to see visitors.**

That sent Ino and Hinata down into a slight depression, which wasn't missed by Sakura and Yuki... Looks like this story is going to do wonders for Naruto's friendships... and maybe his love life.

 ** _'What the hell is going on?'_ Ino thought angrily, _'My cousin comes out of nowhere to try and kill Naruko, because he believes she killed his mother twelve years ago. Not only that, he blew up her house and whatever it is that he believes Naruko did is an S-Rank secret.'_**

 **The platinum blond kunoichi sighed as she thought about everything. It just didn't make sense!**

 **From the door, Inoichi watched his daughter with the experienced eye of both a father and an interrogator. He knew his little princess well enough that he knew that once she got fed up of chewing over the information she had, she would start asking questions, questions that Inoichi couldn't answer because of the law. She was a born interrogator.**

Ino was beaming in happiness upon hearing the praise from her father.

 ** _'If I head in now, I can head off her questions with a small white lie and a small distraction.'_ the elder Yamanaka thought quickly.**

Ino turned and looked at Yuki with a glare "What does that mean?" she asked rather forcefully.

Yuki let a small smirk grace his lips before schooling his features "Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki was sealed by the Hokage as an S-Ranked secret, nobody was to talk about it and the punishment for such was death, although as you can tell, it didn't stop people from spreading their hate through lies or outright attacking him." Ino became sullen upon hearing the answer.

 **"Princess." Inoichi called as he walked into the dining room with a smile.**

 **"Oh, hi daddy." Ino said distractedly.**

 **"Ino." he said seriously, which drew his daughter's immediate attention. Inoichi rarely called her anything but the pet name he had given her as a little girl, so this had to be serious.**

There were a couple of muffled snickers aimed at Ino, which only made her huff at them for it.

 **"I am proud of you for standing with your friend against a superior opponent, princess." he told her with a smile. Ino flushed slightly at this.**

 **"You must be curious as to why Haruo tried to kill your teammate, correct?" Inoichi said with certainty.**

 **"Yes, I am. It's been driving me batty!" Ino replied, aggravation in her voice.**

 **"Well, I can tell you my suspicions on why he tried if you'd like?" he offered casually.**

 **"Wait, you don't know?" Ino asked. Inoichi laughed.**

"Oh he does, he just can't tell you."

 **"Not even the Yamanaka Clan fully understands the working of the mind, Princess." he said wryly. Ino nodded in agreement, not noticing he had effectively dodged her question.**

 **"Well now, where to begin…" Inoichi mused aloud, "I don't suppose you know when Naruko's birthday is, do you?"**

 **"Actually, I do." Ino chirped, "She was born on The Day of The Kyūbi."**

 **Inoichi raised his eyebrow. "How'd you find out?"**

 **"Naruko told me and Hinata yesterday when she told us who her mother was." Ino smiled as she remembered how happy Naruko had been.**

 **"Hokage-sama told her? Good, now I can tell Naruko a bit about her mother." Inoichi said.**

Naruto's eyes narrowed, now that he knew who she was, he was going to track down Inoichi after all this was over and find out more about his mother. And he had ways to get Inoichi to talk; ways that make even the ANBU cry (we're talking about pranks people!)

 **"Wait, you knew?" Ino asked, stunned.**

 **"Kushina-sama was a very famous kunoichi, Ino. She had many enemies. Powerful, _dangerous_ enemies who wouldn't think twice about harming a little girl as an act of revenge-by-proxy. Naruko needed to be protected from that until she could protect herself." Inoichi told his daughter, who looked disgusted at the thought of people who would do such a thing to a defenseless baby.**

The thought of Konoha's own villagers doing the same thing also filled the minds of the group listening.

 **"Anyway, because of the day she was born on, a lot of people believe that Naruko is the Kyūbi reborn. Haruo is one of them." Inoichi said in a carefully neutral tone.**

 **"What?" Ino said, dumbfounded, "That has to be among the most _stupid_ and ridiculous thing I have ever heard! People really believe that rubbish?"**

 **"Sadly, yes. The Kyūbi slew so many people and caused so much destruction that the hatred caused by it, even with its defeat, needed to be directed somewhere." Inoichi said, "Who better, to their minds, than the _only_ child born that day?"**

 **"It's still stupid." Ino muttered.**

A lot absentmindedly nodded along, agreeing with the Ino in the story.

 **"I agree." Inoichi said, "But I don't think you should talk to Naruko about this unless she brings it up herself. It's a very sensitive topic for her."**

 **"Got it. Thanks daddy." Ino said with a smile.**

 **"No problem Princess." Inoichi replied with a smile, "Now, I heard that Haruo used the _Shinranshin no Jutsu_ on you?"**

 **"Yeah, I had to fight my friends. It sucked." Ino said, glowering at the memory.**

 **"How'd you like to learn it?" Inoichi asked with a grin.**

Yuki had to quickly soundproof Ino, and he made it just in time as the girl began squealing about learning more clan jutsu like that.

 **Ino returned his grin. "I'd like that a lot, daddy"**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower, Two Hours Later**

 **Sarutobi was pleasantly surprised that Kakashi was actually on time for a change. He must have taken his warning seriously. The other Jonin looked shocked. Asuma dropped his cigarette, Kurenai tried to dispel a genjutsu and Anko just blinked slowly.**

Team Seven, comprised of Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke scowled, they were liking their up and coming sensei less and less.

 **Deciding to give Kakashi a bit of space, Sarutobi cleared his throat and began to speak, "Alright, now we are all here, give me your reports on your genin teams please."**

 **"Team 1 Failed."**

 **"Team 2, Failed."**

 **"Team 3, Failed."**

 **"Team 4, Failed."**

 **"Team 5, Failed."**

 **"Team 6…passed." said the sickly Gekkō Hayate.**

 **Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Really? An all-civilian team passed?"**

 **Hayate coughed. "Hai, Hokage-sama. My team, comprised of Matsura Ami, Kūfū Kasumi and Hann'ya Fuki all passed the assigned test."**

Ino and Sakura frowned upon hearing those names; those three had been the most vocal of bullies at the academy. Yuki spoke up "Don't worry, that team failed in your world. In fact, I've only seen Ami redeem herself once throughout the multiverse, and she became Naruto's big sister, ever since her parents tried to sacrifice her in a ritual to kill Naruto. This was why she was such a bully. All the other versions... well... she was indeed that much of a bitch."

 **"I see…" Sarutobi mused, "As they are all civilians, they are prohibited from taking part in the Chunin Selection Exams for the period of a year at the very least. Understood?"**

 **"Hai. They passed through Ami's force of will more than anything else so it'll take a while to beat them into shape." Hayate said with another cough.**

 **"Good. Kakashi?" Sarutobi said.**

 **"Team 7...passes…barely." Kakashi said lazily. This elicited the room to blink almost as one.**

 **"Indeed?" Sarutobi asked.**

 **"They failed the main part of the test, but passed the second layer with some difficulty." Kakashi elaborated, "The Uchiha is more of an arrogant brat than I thought and almost made them fail. They will need some serious teambuilding exercises before I consider them ready for more serious training."**

Most of the rookie nine glared at Sasuke, even Sakura surprisingly. Which only made Sasuke huff and turn away from them, however his Inner Sasuke was shrinking away from the growing animosity.

 **"Don't teach teambuilding to the exclusion of all else, Kakashi." Sarutobi warned, "Individual skills are just as important as teamwork."**

 **"Hai Hokage-sama, I will give your advice due consideration." Kakashi said monotonously.**

Everyone ignored Naruto's muttering about how he wouldn't take such disrespect when he became Hokage.

 **The Third Hokage twitched at this blatant brush off, but let it go. "Kurenai?"**

 **"Team 8 passes with flying colours." Kurenai said with pride and Anko grinned as well.**

 **"The gakis have talent. The Yamanaka needs to be 'defangirled' before she'll be of much use, but the other two can carry her dead weight until Nai-chan and I beat some sense into her -which shouldn't take all that long."**

Naruto, Hinata and Ino beamed at the praise, although Ino quickly frowned at the thought of what "defangirling" would imply.

 **Sarutobi hide a smirk. "So noted. Asuma?"**

 **"Team 10, passes." his son said lazily, "Shino and Shikamaru figured the test out in less than a minute and Chōji trusted Shikamaru enough to follow his orders."**

 **"Very good." Sarutobi said, "Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko, Asuma, you four stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed. Hayate, be here at midday tomorrow, along with your team."**

 **Once the room had emptied somewhat, Sarutobi settled back in his chair with a sigh. "Kurenai, brief Kakashi and Asuma on what occurred at Training Ground 8 earlier today."**

 **Kurenai briefly outlined Yamanaka Haruo, Hyūga Arashi and Inuzuka Shippo's attack on Naruko, complete with Naruko's mastery of the _Kage Bunshin_ , her use of _Teppōdama_ and _Reppūshō_ , Hinata's unexpected mastery of her family's taijutsu and of course Naruko's final attack that defeated Haruo, her _Uzumaki Rasentenkyaku_ (Spiral Heaven Kick).**

 **"You're kidding me?" Asuma asked in disbelief, "She mastered a Suiton jutsu, albeit a basic one, to the point that she used it seallessly _in one day_?"**

 **" _That's_ the part that astonishes you?" Kakashi asked, in a bored voice, "I find the fact that she used the ninjutsu that the Nidaime created but couldn't use worthy of astonishment."**

Sakura looked at Yuki "Which one?"

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu. The second Hokage couldn't use it to its full potential because of the cost, but it turned out to be a godsend to the Uzumaki clan."

 **Asuma waved his hand dismissively. "She can do that because of the ludicrous chakra reserves the Kyūbi gives her by hosting it. Mastering a _jutsu_ , on the other hand…"**

 **"Regarding that, Umino Iruka came to me last night to inform me that Naruko sent a Shadow Clone to him with questions regarding the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. Evidently, she used that little lesson to her advantage." Sarutobi said with a proud smile.**

 **Realisation dawned on the Jonin. "Of course! Because shadow clones send their original all of their memories, they make the perfect training tools for Naruko." Kurenai exclaimed with wide eyes. Then she frowned.**

 **"I'm not sure I like my student going to another teacher for advice." she said.**

 **"Iruka-kun is the only teacher who hasn't sabotaged Naruko's education, Kurenai." Sarutobi pointed out, "She regards him as one of the more trustworthy people in her life, as something similar to a brother or father, and she has known him a lot longer than you, so it's quite natural that she would turn to him for advice."**

Naruto nodded along with the Hokage's points, Iruka-sensei was awesome after all.

 **"Point, Nai-chan." Anko remarked. Kurenai scowled, but nodded in acceptance.**

 **Anko grinned. "I wanna know when she thought up that kick though. Gai said the taijutsu part was mixing his own _Dynamic Entry_ with the Inuzuka's _Tsūga_. I dunno about the _Tsūga_ , but I know she only saw Gai's move once."**

That part got Kiba's attention.

 **"She thought it up on pure instinct, I'll wager." Sarutobi replied, "Naruko is very much like her mother in that she learns best by doing rather than being told, a trait that is further increased when she is under pressure. Right before she used the…what was it again...ah yes… _Uzumaki Rasentenkyaku_ , she saw Haruo try to get up, with her friends right in front of him.**

That impressed a lot of Naruto's classmates, and brightened Naruto's mood, he had something in common with his mother.

 **That meant, to Naruko, that she had to do something to protect her friends. I doubt she really thought about what she was doing. As for the name…I recall telling her once about Tsunade's _Tsūtenkyaku_ (Heaven Kick of Pain)."**

That got a couple of people to wince at the name, especially thinking on what that would mean, Tenten especially since she knew the most about Tsunade out of all of the Genin there.

 **All the jonin winced at the name of that technique. Tsunade of the Sannin used it mostly to intimidate debt collectors. Anyone who was actually hit with it was almost certain to die, as it used Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength.**

Now the wince was back and much more noticeable.

 **"Well, at least we know her chakra control is never likely to reach the level required for Tsunade's fighting style." Kakashi said lackadaisically as he pulled out his little orange book and opened it.**

 **"There is that." Kurenai conceded, "But unless you put that book of smut away Hatake, I will make sure to place a genjutsu on you that will make you look like Gai."**

 **Kakashi's head snapped up at her in shocked horror. "You _wouldn't_!"**

Sakura's head snapped up when she heard that. If she could lean such a genjutsu, it might be enough to get him to actually train them if he's as lazy as he sounds.

 **"Try me." Kurenai replied seriously. Kakashi grumbled, but stowed his book in his weapon pouch.**

 **"By the way dad, I'm curious." Asuma said looking at his father curiously, "Why are the teams this year so…unusual? An all-male ninja team, an all kunoichi team…you even split up the Ino-Shika-Chō."**

 **"Because, Asuma, the initial list was a recipe for _disaster_." Sarutobi replied, "Naruko would have been on Team 7, Kiba, Hinata and Shino on Team 8 and the Ino-Shika-Chō would have been with you, Asuma."**

The rookie nine looked at each other. That was what their teams were set up as... this was not looking good.

 **"As I recall, those are the teams we requested in the first place." Kakashi pointed out.**

 **"True, but you all thought in terms of skill and not personalities." Sarutobi replied, "Naruko _despises_ the Uchiha Clan because of the attack on her when she was seven. She would have handed in her headband rather than remain on Sasuke's team. Kiba has no respect for kunoichi, despite his mother and sister being powerful ones, so he would have scared Hinata and angered Kurenai.**

Kiba was nervous. Yeah, his other was starting to look like a real douche; meanwhile Naruto was curious "What attack?"

Yuki frowned, thinking on it "It will explain at some point, all I'm going to say is it took something away from her, a chance at something that both her and Naruto have always wanted, and nobody is sure if she can get it back."

That was menacing, and it seemed only Hinata got what happened if her paling face and tightening grip on Naruto was any indication.

 **Ino, on the other hand, would have _hated_ to have been in a team under you Asuma, because you really are too lazy, which is why you requested the Ino-Shika-Chō in the first place. She would have nagged Chōji and Shikamaru to train and you would _maybe_ send her off with a jutsu to learn -after a whole lot of persuasion on Ino's part- while you play shōgi with Shikamaru and Chōji ate. Maybe the occasional teambuilding exercise, but you would have told them to focus on learning their clan jutsu, meaning Ino would have been frustrated at almost every training session."**

That did not bode well for Ino. She was going to get her father on that, either to get the teams changed or get more training at home.

 **Sarutobi paused to light his pipe, ignoring his son's indignant face, before he continued.**

The genin didn't ignore it, and some snickering was involved.

 **"A pretty similar thing would have happened with Naruko under you Asuma and Kakashi as well. So then, I thought about it, especially after I saw how Naruko mastered a B-Rank Kinjutsu in two hours. She needed someone to teach her the basics in chakra control, someone who wasn't lazy and wouldn't be three hours late, which meant Kurenai." he explained.**

 **"Alright, I'll give you that, but I'm not _that_ lazy!" Asuma protested.**

 **"We'll discuss that later." Sarutobi said in a quelling fashion, "So then, if Naruko was to be on a team with Kurenai, who to put with her? Hinata was a given, both for Naruko's sake and for her own. That bore fruit this morning, as you heard. Sakura would have made a good choice, but I decided on Ino for similar reasons to Naruko.**

Heading off the questioning before it started, Yuki spoke up, "For reasons that will be stated in this story, this version of Hinata is Androphobic. She has a fear of males and it's a small part of the reason this Hinata has a crush on Naruko, even though they have the same gender."

That got some nervous nods while the few who were going to speak up closed their mouths before they could even begin.

 **As to the others, I place Kiba on Team 7 in the hope some of his pack mentality would rub off on the Uchiha and Shino with Shikamaru and Chōji, because he can get on with practically anybody." Sarutobi finished, looking between the four jonin.**

Shino nodded at the logic of that statement.

 **"Now, we have to discuss the moving of the genin into their new homes tomorrow…" Sarutobi said as he puffed on his pipe.**

 **The jonin relaxed at the change in topic and by the time the meeting was over, any ruffled feathers were soothed.**

* * *

 **Around the same time**

 **Hyūga Hitomi's Private Garden, Hyūga Main House Area, Hyūga Clan Compound**

Hinata perked up at the mention of her mother's garden.

 **Hinata sighed as she trimmed the bush in front of her. Taking care of her mother's garden was something she had done since she was old enough to do it without the assistance of a gardener. It was one of the things that relaxed her in the tense and strict Hyūga Compound.**

Naruto seemed to instinctively know that Hinata was upset, so he snaked his arm around her and pulled her close, gently rubbing her back to help sooth her. Those that watched and knew of Hinata's crush were smirking at the admittedly cute scene.

 **"Hinata." a voice called for her attention and she stood and turned to see her father standing at the entrance to the house.**

Feeling Hinata stiffen, Naruto worked harder to calm the girl down.

 **"Y-Yes, Otou-san?" Hinata asked nervously. Her father had not said anything since picking her up from the hospital, so she was worried he was about to castigate her for some reason.**

 **"It is my understanding from your Jonin-sensei that you used the _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_ against Yamanaka Haruo." he stated, "I find this odd as I have not taught you that technique yet. Explain."**

 **"I-I f-found a scroll in Okaa-san's bonsai w-workroom that d-detailed it." Hinata replied, the pressure from her father's question making her stutter worse, "I was h-hoping to s-surprise you once I mastered it."**

 **Hiashi regarded his daughter with well-concealed shock. She had been in Hitomi's room? No, more to the point, his wife had kept a scroll on one of the three Main Family Attack Techniques in her _bonsai workroom_?**

Hinata perked up, she was going to have to search there just in case when she got back.

 **The three Main Family _Jūken_ Attack Techniques, the _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_ , _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō_ and _Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō_ (Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms) were taught to only the best and most promising in each generation of the Hyūga Clan and only when their teacher thought them ready to learn them. Hitomi had never learned any of the techniques because, while skilled at the _Jūken_ , she had not been a combat ninja.**

 **Hiashi found his voice again. "Where in the workroom was it?"**

Hinata made sure to pay extra attention.

 **"Ano…it was i-in a hidden d-drawer that I found when I was looking for Okaa-san's notes on treating g-greenfly last year." Hinata replied.**

 **"I see…come. I shall see your skill with the technique to see if you are worthy of using it." Hiashi said as he turned and led her towards the dojo.**

Hinata was even more nervous and buried her face into Naruto's shirt, clinging to him with worry.

 **Hinata followed him, trembling. He would punish her if she could not use it well, she just knew it. She hoped she would not have to use the technique on her little sister. Hinata could not bear the thought of hurting the last gift her mother had left them in Hanabi.**

 **She had only won against Hanabi in spars a couple of times, mostly when she was too distracted or concerned about something to concentrate on holding back against her, like she had a couple of days ago when Naruko's apartment building had been blown up.**

 **When they reached the dojo, as Hinata had feared, Hanabi, her little sister, stood waiting impassively for her father and elder sister. She was dressed in black training clothes and her blank face gave away little of how she felt.**

 **"Hanabi, your sister has learned a new technique that I would like her to use against you." Hiashi told Hanabi, "Prepare yourself."**

 **"Hai, Otou-sama." Hanabi replied, her voice far too solemn for a seven year old. She assumed the basic stance of the Jūken when Hinata stood opposite her. Reluctantly, Hinata assumed the same stance.**

 ** _'What do I do? I don't want to hurt Hanabi-chan! But I don't want to be punished either! What should I do?'_ Hinata thought frantically. Then, she remembered the burning pyre where she thought Naruko had died earlier this morning. Her face stiffened as she instinctively activated the Byakugan with remembered rage, which shocked Hanabi as she saw her sister glaring at her for the first time in her life.**

This shocked those that knew how shy Hinata really was, and was probably the first time in a long time that an emotion other than disdain and anger crossed Neji's face in a long while.

 ** _'Never again. Never again will I be forced to let Naruko protect me as she risks her life!'_ Hinata thought ferociously. In her mind, she saw Naruko exchanged for Hanabi. Hinata's mind rebelled against the scenario.**

 **Hiashi was struck by the similarity between Hinata and Hitomi at that moment. Hinata looked just like her mother had after an assassin wounded him in a failed attempt on his life. She had torn the man to pieces with all the ferocity of a lioness.**

Hinata looked up in shock when she heard what her mother had done.

 ** _'Oh dear. I believe Hanabi is about to be pounded like nothing she has felt before.'_ Hiashi thought, before he raised his hand and said, "Hajime!"**

 **To Hanabi's astonishment, Hinata moved to attack first, which was unprecedented in every single spar the two sisters had ever had. She hurriedly activated her own dōjutsu and blocked Hinata's strike -barely.**

This got everyone else's attention.

 **It was all Hanabi could do to hold her own against the ferocious onslaught Hinata sent her way. She had absolutely no room to counterattack whatsoever.**

Now everyone's eyes widened at what they heard.

 **After a particularly well executed strike knocked her off balance, Hanabi saw Hinata make a very specific pose that was far too familiar from when she saw her father do it.**

 **"You are within range of my divination, Hanabi." Hinata said in a cold voice that chilled the younger Hyūga to hear, " _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_!"**

 **Hinata's arms then seemed to blur as she began the attack.**

 **" _Nishō_!" A pair of strikes to the tenketsu in her shoulders.**

 **" _Yonshō_!" An additional two strikes to the abdomen.**

 **" _Hachishō_!" Four strikes across the upper torso, carefully avoiding the internal organs.**

 **" _Jūrokushō_!" Eight strikes to the arms and upper legs.**

 **" _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_!" Hinata struck the final set of sixteen strikes across most of the body of her younger sister, the last being strong enough to fling Hanabi back onto the dojo floor in a crumpled heap.**

 **Hiashi would have gaped had it not been for his Hyūga training in keeping his emotions under check and out of sight. That had been an excellently executed attack, although it had been strangely…different from the version he knew, more fluid and less rigid than the traditional version taught by the clan.**

Hinata had watched the video play of the move and her eyes were glued in awe at how it looked, she must learn that!

 **Regardless of _how_ it was done, Hinata _had_ closed thirty of Hanabi's tenketsu and partially closed the other two, without so much as grazing any of Hanabi's veins or organs. He was astounded by her progress and was pleased to say that he had never been more proud of his eldest daughter.**

 **Hinata seemed to come out of her trance and ran to help her sister sit up, concern written across her face. She began opening Hanabi's tenketsu one by one, a painful process Hiashi knew from personal experience.**

Naruto whispered in Hinata's ear that he would be her target dummy while training that, he wanted to see her get stronger. What he didn't say was he probably felt worse and would be ok with it. Heck, he probably could come up with a bunch of counter moves or something if he ever had to fight one of those, in his opinion, jerks.

 **"O…Onee-sama…" Hanabi said, slightly stunned by her defeat, the second in three days, "H-How did you get so strong?"**

 **Hinata looked at her sister kindly. "This morning, I almost lost one of my friends to an exceptionally _stupid_ person who blamed her for something she could not have possibly done. The thought of losing her was what motivated me. I will become strong, strong enough that I can fight alongside her and help her, rather than be protected by her like this morning.**

 **I always held back when fighting you because you are my imouto, my sister. The idea of hurting you is repugnant to me, so I held back and let you win a lot of the time. I knew that this would almost guarantee that I will be branded with the Caged Bird Seal, but I did not care. As long as you were safe, what happened to me was immaterial."**

Naruto felt something he hadn't really felt before and without realizing it, pulled Hinata onto his lap as he held her close, not wanting to lose her. Hinata was also scared for her other, but was blushing fiercely at her new position on her crush's lap.

 **Hanabi's eyes were wet with tears as she listened to her elder sister tell her that she was willing to become what was basically a slave in order to protect her. Hiashi's eyes were not exactly dry either as he listened.**

 **"But I realise now that sometimes, protecting someone requires that they get hurt in the process." Hinata said as she looked at Hanabi square in the eyes. "I will now fight you with all I have in our sparring sessions, so you get as strong as you can as fast as you can. I am unsuited for _Jūken_. It feels wrong for me to use, so you will be the Heiress and I will be sealed."**

 **"But Onee-sama…!" Hanabi said tearfully before a finger went over her mouth.**

 **"My choice, Hanabi-chan." Hinata said softly, "Mine and no-one else's. Just promise me that you'll treat me right once I'm sealed."**

 **"You might be married out of the Clan." Hanabi said desperately.**

 **Hinata shook her head. "Unlikely. And even if I was, I'd still be branded with the Sleeping Bird Seal, so my children wouldn't receive the _Byakugan_."**

 **Hiashi decided to intervene at this point. He had a plan in motion that would hopefully free Hinata of her burden should she be chosen to be sealed, so he had to get them out of this little rut they were in.**

 **"Hinata. Hanabi." he spoke evenly. Both of his daughters jumped. It was self-evident that they had forgotten he had been there the entire time, so engrossed they had been with their conversation.**

 **"Hinata that was an excellent sparring session. Although the technique you used is subtly different from what I use." Hiashi said, "I would like to see the scroll that you used as a reference for learning it."**

 **Seeing Hinata nod in acquiescence, he then addressed his youngest child. "Hanabi, I am glad to see that you now realize how much your sister cares for you. I realized the first time she lost precisely what she was planning and, while unhappy she would condemn herself to such a fate, the Clan laws are clear in this regard: One of you must be sealed by, at the very latest, Hinata's sixteenth birthday."**

 **Seeing the sisters instinctively tighten their grip on one another protectively, Hiashi smiled openly. "Have no fear, my daughters. I have a plan. Trust me and I shall hopefully be able to either stall the branding indefinitely or prevent it altogether."**

Both Hinata and Naruto perked up upon hearing that, hope shining in their eyes.

 **The looks of hope dawning across the faces of his daughters faces felt like a million ryo for Hiashi.**

* * *

 **Later That Afternoon**

 **Former Toji Clan Home, Clan Residential District**

 **Naruko was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the training room, her face contorted in thought. Before her was a scroll detailing her Clan's Taijutsu Style.**

Naruto perked up and listened closely.

 **To be accurate, Taijutsu _Styles_ , plural.**

Now that got everyone's attention, and bought more time before the others realized Hinata's new seat.

 **She had gotten home a while ago from the hospital after enduring a 'youthful' discussion of the technique she had used against Yamanaka Haruo this morning from Gai-sensei.**

Naruto flinched. The eyebrows...

 **What the two-hour talk (How he had managed to talk about a single technique for that long, she didn't know) had boiled down to, in essence, was three points and an offer.**

 **First: Naruko had not utilized the _Tsūga_ portion of the technique correctly. She had only gotten perhaps a third of the spin speed possible, so she had not hit as hard as she could have.**

Kiba thought about it before giving a nod of approval.

 **Second: Her body required more strength, endurance and stamina in order to use the technique without repercussions.**

Tenten and Neji were thankful for duct tape.

 **And Third: The technique was too unwieldy, as it required a completely static target in order to strike the opponent successfully. She had been lucky that Haruo had been too debilitated by Hinata's _Jūken_ to be able to dodge her.**

Naruto's whispering of Hinata being awesome like that made the heiress's blush deepen.

 **The offer was to give her remedial training in Taijutsu and basic exercises in order to 'allow her youthful flames to explode in full bloom', whatever _that_ meant.**

Naruto had a look of horror on his face when he heard that.

 **When she had pointed out that she already _had_ a Jonin-sensei, Gai-sensei had assured her that he would arrange things with Kurenai-sensei.**

 **Slightly assured by that, she had accepted, contingent on Kurenai-sensei's acceptance of the matter. Gai had made what could only be described as a 'nice guy' pose and zoomed off in a green blur.**

 **When she had returned to her new home after a quick trip (and twelve bowls of Ramen) to Ichiraku, she had sought out her family scrolls so she could begin her retraining immediately.**

 **Unfortunately, she had discovered that, once she unsealed them, the Taijutsu scrolls were in a jumbled mess. She guessed that the main priority had been packing them away as fast as possible rather than in any particular order. She had finally gotten them into some degree of order and had found the scroll index.**

 **What she had found confused her somewhat. There weren't just her Clan's scrolls; there was at least one scroll from every Clan in Uzushiogakure. She separated her own Clan scrolls from the others for the moment and focused on the Uzumaki scrolls.**

 **The Uzumaki Clan did indeed have its own Taijutsu style. Unfortunately, it was split into three tiers, all of which warned that one must master the 'basic' style first before one attempted to learn the Uzumaki Taijutsu Style, _Uzumaki Karyū-Ken_ (Whirlpool Vortex Style).**

Naruto's eyes sparkled when he heard the name of the style, it sounded powerful.

 **Frustrated, Naruko had scoured the index for what this basic style was called. After much searching, she discovered that it was called the _Ushio-ken_ (Tide Fist Style) and had been the equivalent of the Konoha Academy's _Hakage_ (Leaf Shadow) style in Uzushiogakure.**

 **That brought her to this point. She was in the middle of reading the details of the basic stances and katas of the style, which seemed a whole lot more sensible than Konoha's basic taijutsu.**

 **The Konoha _Hakage_ style was neutral, favouring neither offense nor defence over the other. Rather, its main feature was that it was easy to learn and use as a base for learning more advanced Taijutsu styles. Graduates of the Academy generally only used Hakage style until they found a better style to learn.**

 ** _Ushio-ken_ , on the other hand, was a solid style in and of itself. An offense-oriented style, it relied on swift, decisive strikes to finish the foe as fast as possible, operating under the premise that attack was the best defence.**

 **It made sense to Naruko. Why bother sending genin out with a substandard taijutsu style that wouldn't stand up to any ninja with any sort of combat experience when you can give them a solid foundation to begin with?**

Yuki smirked when Naruto nodded along. Sakura however looked nervous, like she wanted to defend the Hakage style, but couldn't come up with a good point.

 **"Right." Naruko muttered as she stood up, eyes still locked on the scroll in her hands. A cough coming from immediately behind her made her almost levitate. Whirling around, she saw that it was a smirking Third Hokage.**

That got some giggles out of the girls and a pout from Naruto.

 **"Ji-chan, don't scare me like that!" Naruko said irritably as she rolled up the scroll in her hands and stuck it in a scroll pocket in the underside of her trench coat.**

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "Sorry Naruko-chan. When I came in you were just so intent on reading that I decided to wait until you finished reading to…ah...interrupt your studying."**

 **Naruko sighed. "Fair enough. Hold on a sec. _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" An entire army of Naruko's spread out among the house.**

 **"Alright you lot!" Naruko called, "Spread out across the grounds and practice the stances and katas. Some of you take perimeter patrol and some of you get to work on reading those indexes. I do not want to have to play archivist every time I have to look something up. Move out!"**

 **"Yes ma'am!" the horde of Naruko's said as they scattered, soon leaving Sarutobi and Naruko alone in the house once again.**

That got Naruto's attention; if he could get his clones to listen like that he'd be golden.

 **"Which style are you learning?" Sarutobi enquired curiously.**

 **"The _Ushio-ken_." Naruko replied, "My family's taijutsu style can't be learned without learning that style first."**

 **"Ah yes. I had forgotten Kushina telling me that." Sarutobi nodded sagely.**

 **Naruko's eye twitched a bit before she brightened. "Oh, Ji-chan, what do you think of my new outfit?" She twirled around.**

 **"Very nice Naruko-chan." Sarutobi said with a smile, "But what about your Clan symbol?"**

 **"The place I went to -NOT a local business, thank kami- said they'd put it on the back and left sleeve of ten copies of my outfit they'd have made up for tomorrow. This'll do for now though." Naruko replied.**

 **"That's good." Sarutobi said with a smile. "I remember your mother's outfit as a genin was a kimono-style blouse with a black obi, a black skirt, thigh-high stockings and black sandals. It suited her quite well."**

A picture came up of Kushina in her genin attire, getting a couple of raised eyebrows, especially from how much Naruto looked like her.

 **Naruko smiled at this new titbit about her mother, before she remembered the letter. "Ji-chan…I…I found a letter…from my mother."**

 **Sarutobi's eyes widened as he looked at Naruko in concern.**

 **"You…should probably read it too." Naruko said as she led him to her bedroom. Picking up the letter, she handed it to the Hokage, who accepted it with a grave air.**

 **Sarutobi unfolded the letter and read it, smiling when a particularly Kushina-like line sprung out at him, wincing when he reached the line about what Naruko should do if she didn't know about the Kyūbi before reading the letter and quietly thanked kami that he had planned on telling her about her status as a Jinchūriki when she passed the genin exam anyway, rather than chunin as Kushina had initially suggested.**

 **When he reached the part about Biwako, he let out a shuddering breath as he remembered her no nonsense and direct manner. Kami, he missed her so much. He finished reading the letter, noting the advice Kushina gave Naruko with considerable interest.**

The others were saddened and very slightly awed, seeing the Hokage so vulnerable and human compared to what they usually saw of him.

 **"Thank you, Naruko-chan." He said as he handed the precious letter back to Naruko with a nod. "I suppose you want to know what happened?"**

 **"Yup." Naruko said, "I read _that_ part over and over. Teams of ANBU and the Yondaime Hokage on standby, one of the best midwives in the Elemental Nations, a secret, hidden location with a powerful kekkai…what the hell could have gotten past all that?"**

 **"I wish we knew." replied Sarutobi sadly, "After…well, after the Kyūbi was sealed, we went over the birthing chamber with a fine toothed comb. Biwako, the other med-nin, the ANBU guards…all dead from a single killing strike each. Someone was able to bypass the kekkai, kill almost every living thing in the chamber and make off with Kushina to break the Kyūbi out, right out from under the nose of Konoha's Yellow Flash, without suffering a single wound in the process."**

Ok, now they were starting to get disturbed by what they were hearing. Yuki spoke up "And he was the one that helped Itachi, or in some cases even killed the ones Itachi was going to spare. Then again if it weren't for the warhawk Danzō and Sasuke's own father Fugaku, there would never had been a need for the massacre. So those three are really to blame." He could tell that Sasuke didn't know what to think anymore. Good. That meant he will more than likely be more open minded in the future.

 **Naruko gaped. "Th-that shouldn't have been _possible_! ANBU are the best of the best! Even if they were all killed, the bastard should have at least a _few_ wounds! And Yondaime-sama was the fastest Hokage _ever_!"**

Yuki spoke up again "That 'bastard' as you call him has a mangekyo sharingan that allows him to become intangible by sending parts of his body out of phase."

Naruto looked confused "What does 'intangible' mean?"

Speaking up before Sakura could demean Naruto "It means attacks go right through him like he was a ghost."

Naruto shivered as his fear kicked up again, Yuki just kept going however "There is a way around it though, he can only hold it for five minutes straight and since it's a conscious move, he can't use it to defend against attacks he doesn't see coming unless he turns it on beforehand, he also can't attack when he's all ghostly like that."

Naruto kept shivering while Shikamaru was in deep thought, trying to come up with ways to beat someone like that, it was surprising to him that it was a lot harder than he first thought it would be.

 **"True." Sarutobi agreed, "But I think we both have to agree that the person responsible would have to be incredibly powerful to do all of the above in the first place, so I'm afraid it is in the realm of possibility."**

The others nodded in agreement, it was really overpowered.

 **"If I _ever_ find out who's responsible for my mother being killed, I'll roast his nuts slowly over a fire." Naruko said darkly.**

"So would I." came Naruto's dark reply, for the first time finding something or rather someone he truly hated.

 **"I'll be happy to give you a hand." Sarutobi assured her with a predatory grin that his surrogate granddaughter returned.**

The only ones that didn't shiver at the look was Naruto, who was giving the same look on top of the tears he was letting out, Hinata, who was trying to comfort the blond and calm him down, and Sasuke, who was approving of the revenge-thoughts.

 **"Now then, do you want to find out what your gauntlet can do?" Sarutobi asked once the two of them had dealt with their dark impulses and made their way to the living room.**

EVERYONE was paying rapt attention at this point. It was, after all, what they were looking forward to in this chapter.

 **"Hell yeah!" Naruko chirped in reply, "It's been bugging me ever since I finished the damn thing."**

Yuki chuckled at the like-minded attitudes of the others who agreed with the Naruko in the book.

 **"Well then, let's bring Enma and Enki here." Sarutobi said. Biting his thumbs just enough to draw blood, Sarutobi weaved handsigns.**

 **" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu- Saru Tan'ya: Enki_! _Enkōō: Enma_!" Sarutobi declared as he slammed his hands on the ground. In two plumes of smoke, the familiar forms of the Monkey King and one of his Master Blacksmiths appeared.**

 **"Hiruzen? You're a day early." Enma said gruffly.**

 **"I just passed my genin test this morning, Enma-sama." Naruko said, "The guy who blew up my old home tried to kill me in person just after that, so Ji-chan thinks it would be a good idea for me to know how to use the En'ō Kago-te just in case."**

 **"…" Enki looked at Naruko for a moment before shaking his head. "The humans in your village are as dumb as rocks Hiruzen."**

 **"I have trouble refuting that sometimes." Sarutobi said with a sigh.**

After hearing about Naruto and Naruko's lives, the other genin were starting to agree.

 **"Humph." Enki snorted, "Well then Naruko. Has anything happened that you think has anything to do with the gauntlet?"**

 **Naruko frowned. "Well…yeah. Yesterday, Kurenai-sensei put me under a genjutsu. Ordinarily I can't even tell I'm in one, but this time the gauntlet heated up and the eyes of the monkey head glowed red. And when I tried to dispel the genjutsu, I actually managed to do it."**

 **"The first ability of the gauntlet." Enma said, " _Enkōō Seiiki_ (Monkey King's Sanctuary). An ability unique to the one who forged it with their chakra. As long as you wear it, there is a constant flow of chakra between you and the gauntlet. Because of this, the En'ō Kago-te can detect foreign chakra in your system and alert you to it. It even increases your chakra control to help you dispel the genjutsu cast on you, up to a point. C-Rank genjutsu and below won't be very hard to detect and dispel with the gauntlet on. You still have to be careful when dealing with B-Rank and above though."**

 **Naruko gazed at the gauntlet in awe.**

The others looked at the screen in awe as well, for someone that had trouble using and detecting Genjutsu like Naruto, that ability was a godsend.

 **"The second ability isn't _really_ an ability." Enki admitted, "The _Enkōō Keiyaku_ (Contract of the Monkey King) means that as long as you bear that gauntlet, you are officially a Summoner of the Monkey Clan. Congratulations."**

Ok, now they were starting to feel jealous. Yuki looked over to his sister's section and chuckled quietly to himself.

Asuma was silently fuming to himself while Kurenai was patting his shoulder.

 **"R-Really?" Naruko squeaked. A chuckling Sarutobi nodded.**

 **"It's nice to have a fellow Summoner of the Monkey Clan in the village again." he remarked before gesturing at Enma to continue.**

 **"The gauntlet is now made of adamantine, a legendary material that is harder than diamonds." Enma informed her, "The final ability of the gauntlet makes its composition very useful. _The Enkōō Tengu_ (The Heavenly Tools of the Monkey King) allows the gauntlet to change shape into one of twelve weapon forms."**

 **"Seriously?!" Naruko exclaimed excitedly.**

Tenten was literally vibrating in place. She wanted a weapon like that!

 **"Yes indeed." Enki chuckled, "Of course, it isn't as simple as all that. Y'see the part of the gauntlet that can rotate? You might notice how every panel is blank, barring one part that has '籠手' (Gauntlet) on it?"**

 **Naruko looked at the gauntlet and, sure enough, there was a panel just as Enki described.**

 **"Cool. So how do I transform it?" Naruko asked eagerly.**

 **"You can't." Enki replied, "At least, not until you sacrifice a weapon to the gauntlet."**

 **"EH!?" Naruko said, startled.**

 **"What I mean is that the gauntlet absorbs the weapon you offer to it and the kanji for the weapon appears on one of the rotating plates." Enki elaborated, "You then make the Monkey Handsign and say 'Buki Henge' then 'Kongō (Adamantine/Vajra)' plus the name of whatever the weapon is called in order to transform the gauntlet. In addition, the quality of the weapon you offer determines the quality of the transformed gauntlet, so a poor quality weapon begets you a poor quality transformation. You see?"**

 **"I…think so." Naruko said slowly, "But I don't have any weapons except kunai and shuriken, and none of them are high quality stuff either."**

 **"Here." Sarutobi unsealed a Bō staff from a seal hidden on his left arm somewhere.**

 **"Ji-chan, you don't have to-" Naruko tried to protest.**

 **"You have to get used to transforming the gauntlet." Sarutobi said firmly, "Besides, I have a lot of good Bō staffs in the Sarutobi compound that can replace this one."**

 **Naruko accepted the Bō from her grandfather figure and spun it slightly. It was a good weight, not too light or too heavy, and was well balanced. The wood was lacquered a dull black and each end was capped by a thick, blunt piece of plain steel to increase the impact of the strikes. It was almost two meters tall, so it was bigger than she was at the moment.**

 **"Ok. This is a _good_ Bō." Naruko said with conviction, as she looked at Enki, "So how do I, uh, _offer_ it to my gauntlet?"**

 **Enki chuckled. "First, you draw blood and swipe it horizontally across the mouth of the snarling monkey face on the back of your hand."**

 **Naruko bit her thumb and swiped it across the mouth. Instantly, the monkey head swelled up until it jutted out from the gauntlet like a tumour. It opened its mouth, ready.**

Everyone but Yuki deadpanned at the screen when they saw that. Seriously?

 **Naruko looked at it then at Enki. "Seriously? It has to _eat_ the damn thing?"**

 **"As you would say, 'yep'." Enki grunted back, clearly amused, "Insert it end-first. As you put it in, make sure you do not put your hand too close to the mouth or it'll suck you in. That would be…bad."**

 **"Riiiiight." Naruko said regarding Enki with no small amount of scepticism, but decided to take him at his word. She had a shadow clone carefully placed one of the butt-ends of the Bō in the opening of the gaping mouth of the monkey face on the back of her hand and push it in.**

 **A slight blue glow was shining from the mouth as the staff was inserted, deepening in colour as more and more of the staff was swallowed up by the gauntlet.**

 **"How is it doing that?" Naruko asked, fascinated.**

 **"Seals. Lots and _lots_ of seals." Enki replied, "I'm no Seal Master, but there are a few of the Monkey Clan who are intermediate Masters. Plus, we can contact Jiraya of the Sannin via the Toad Clan if we want something particularly complex. I didn't consult him on the seals used on En'ō Kago-te and it bit me on the ass. Far too damn powerful for its own good and utterly useless while incomplete."**

 **"It was foolish of you to not request a messenger sent to the Toads when you were forging the damned thing." Enma said bluntly.**

 **"At the time, it was intended as a tithe for you, Enma-sama." Enki pointed out, "It was a surprise. How was I supposed to know that the particular sealing matrix I used would react the way it did when I overlaid a secondary array around it?"**

The deadpan returned... that... was something they'd expect out of Naruto.

Naruto just pouted for some reason, he felt like someone just dissed him.

 **"You never even consulted the few intermediate Seal Masters we had before trying it." the Monkey King growled, "You're lucky that I managed to rip the damn gauntlet off before it drained me dry."**

 **"Enma, Enki, can you argue later? The gauntlet's almost finished absorbing the staff." Sarutobi interjected with a mental eye roll. These two had been arguing about that particular incident for decades and Sarutobi wasn't in the mood to watch it for the nth time.**

 **With a slight {POP!}, the last of the Bō vanished into the gauntlet. The mouth of the monkey closed and retracted back into the main gauntlet. Then, the movable section of the En'ō Kago-te began to rotate, slowly at first then picking up speed. Finally, it stopped on the blank plate next to the only occupied plate and the kanji '棒' (Bō) appeared on it as if it was being written by a brush.**

 **"Wow." Naruko said appreciatively.**

 **"Try and transform it into a staff now." Enma directed.**

 **Naruko nodded and formed the Monkey handsign. " _En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kongōbō_! (Gauntlet of the Monkey King: Weapon Transformation: Adamantine Staff!)" She commanded.**

 **A puff of smoke surrounded Naruko for a moment, before clearing to reveal the blond kunoichi now holding a Bō staff, but one that was different from the one that had been offered to the gauntlet.**

 **It was still black, but was now the matt black that denoted adamantine. It was slightly shorter than before, at the perfect length for Naruko to wield it. The steel caps at the ends were now a bronze-like material, shaped like snarling monkey faces.**

 **"That...is impressive." Sarutobi said.**

 **Naruko looked at her now bare right forearm. "Huh. Feels kinda wrong to not have the gauntlet on my arm." she commented.**

 **"When you wish to return the En'ō Kago-te to its original form, merely make a one-handed Tiger Handsign and commend 'Buki Henge: Kai' ." Enki advised.**

 **Naruko nodded. Making the required handsign with her free hand, she said, " _En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kai_! (Gauntlet of the Monkey King: Weapon Transformation: Release!)"**

 **In another poof of smoke, the Bō was gone and the gauntlet was back on Naruko's arm.**

 **"I think I could get used to this." she smirked.**

Naruto smirked as well "Oh yeah. Never have to worry about the damn thing getting lost or stolen in that transformed state. Just dispel it and POOF! Back on my arm... oh that would be awesome." Tenten was off in la-la-land fantasizing about the gauntlet.

 **"I'll bet." Sarutobi said dryly, "But while the weapon is important, you also require skill to use it effectively. Have you looked at weapons styles in your archives?"**

 **Seeing Naruko shake her head in negation, he said, "I'd check that next, if I were you. If there is no Bōjutsu style from Uzu, I will find you a style from Konoha."**

 **"Arigato, Ji-chan!" Naruko said with a beaming smile. Then her brow furrowed.**

 **"Enki-san, how can the gauntlet 'absorb' a weapon that is too big to fit down the opening?" she asked.**

 **Enki shrugged. "In the same way you have a mountain-high fox demon held within you: seals. Sarutobi here might have told you this before, but as long as you have the formula, there is no limit to what Fūinjutsu can accomplish. I designed the seals to do with weapon absorption so they could absorb even a tetsubō or a zanbatō with ease. They bend the space around the weapon so it fits, regardless of size."**

Ok, even those not interested in weapons were starting to feel jealous about that thing. Some of them getting interested in seals and vowed to look up the subject later.

 **"Oh." Naruko mulled this over for a moment. "Is there any limits or demerits to using the third ability?"**

 **"Heh. She's sharp." Enma remarked, "Yes, there are limits and a demerit. You cannot shift between weapon forms directly. You have to revert back to the gauntlet before you can transform it into another weapon. In addition, you can only transform the gauntlet three times in a single hour, not including cancelling the transformations, then it must rest for at least half an hour. Finally, the demerit. When wielding En'ō Kago-te in a weapon form, you are bereft of the _En'ō no Seiiki_ ability. You have to choose between offense and defense."**

Naruto tilted his head to the side "What does bereft mean?"

Yuki came to his rescue again "to do without, or no longer have access to."

 **"I can work with those conditions." Naruko said confidently.**

 **"Naruko-chan, I would like it if you could avoid using your summoning abilities for as long as you can." Sarutobi said, seriously, "Otherwise there will be moan and complaints of favoritism from the civilians and maybe even a few grumbles from the Shinobi Forces. Wait a few months and I can say I let you sign the Monkey Contract as a reward for a mission well done."**

Naruto grinned, oh how he loved loopholes. Back in Konoha, the civilian council members shuddered as one.

 **Naruko contorted her face a bit at this. She may have matured a bit since graduating, but she had been seeking acknowledgement from people for seven long years and that much ingrained habit did not just vanish with the wind.**

Hinata felt sorry for Naruto and snuggled into his shoulder. Yuki sighed, if this kept up he was seriously thinking of throwing those two in a sealed room so those two can get rid of whatever tension they had, sexual or otherwise.

 **Reluctantly, she nodded. "I will use it if my teammate's lives are in danger, Ji-chan."**

 **"That is an honorable stipulation, Naruko-chan and I accept it without reservation." Sarutobi replied solemnly.**

 **"Hiruzen, now that we have explained everything to the new Summoner, Enki and I should be going." Enma said gruffly, "I shall hopefully see you again soon, Naruko."**

 **"As do I, Enma-sama." Naruko replied with a small bow.**

Kiba spoke up this time "I still can't get over seeing Naruto of all people being respectful." This got chuckles from the others.

 **With a couple of puffs of smoke, the monkey summons disappeared back to their own realm, leaving the humans alone once again.**

 **"Now, I have some news for you regarding a recent act passed in the council." Sarutobi said after a moment.**

 **"Please don't tell me the council passed a law restricting Jinchūriki from rising higher than genin." Naruko deadpanned.**

Naruto sucked in a breath of air in panic.

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "The Shodaime enacted a little-known law after the Valley of the End that specifically prohibited discrimination against Clans, families and individuals with demonic association, possessing demonic ancestry or being host to a demon.**

And promptly deflated after hearing that. "Thank goodness..." he mumbled to himself "note to self, check to see if that law exists back home when we get back."

 **No, what I need to discuss is The Genin Housing Act."**

 **"What's that?" Naruko asked confusedly.**

 **Sarutobi smiled grimly. Naruko would like this.**

 **"For you, it means that your teammates are moving in here with you." He replied cheerfully.**

 **A second passed, then another. Then...**

 **"EHHHHHHHHH?!" Naruko shrieked.**

Yuki looked up at the other "And that ends that chapter." Kiba, who had been slowly leaning forward in anticipation, fell out of his seat at that announcement, landing on his face.

After the laughter ended Yuki turned the page "The next chapter is **Housemates and D-Ranks** "


	7. Ch 6: Housemates and D-Ranks

It was strange, Yuki noted, just how much these kids were getting into the story and reflecting on their own decisions in life. Opening to the next chapter, the silverette god began " **Chapter 6: Housemates and D-Ranks**."

 **Timeskip - The Next Day**

 **Midday, Sarutobi's Office, Hokage Tower**

 **The eleven genin in the room had taken two sides. Ami's team were on one side, the rest were on the other side giving Ami's team the evil eye. At least the girls were. Ino, Sakura and Hinata had all been bullied by the purple haired menace that was Ami.**

Again, the girls were mildly scowling at the mention of their tormentor, huh... must have been more of a bitch than the anime and manga show then...

 **The boys were indifferent.**

Ino scoffed under her breath "of course..."

 **Kiba was dismissive of kunoichi, although Tsume and Hana, his mother and sister, were strong and well-respected kunoichi that _no_ man wanted to get on the wrong side of.**

Kiba was nervous. He knew how strong his mother and sister were and wanted no part in whatever delusions his other self had.

And yes, he knew what the word 'delusions' meant.

 **Shino was indifferent to petty rivalries as it was an illogical process.**

Shino gave a nod at his other's thoughts, agreeing.

 **Shikamaru thought it was too troublesome.**

Oh how he wish he had a pillow or something for all of this... troublesome...

 **Chōji might have cared if he had been on his own, but as it was, no.**

Chōji gave a light embarrassed and uneasy half-hearted laugh as some of the others looked at him.

 **Sasuke regarded everyone around him as inferior, whether they are ninja or civilian, so the feuding between the kunoichi was of little interest to him.**

"Thus proving the lack of brain cells among his fangirls..." Yuki muttered darkly, ignoring the hurt and angry looks he was getting from Ino and Sakura, the only two fangirls present.

 **The five jonin watching the genin did not think this was a good sign.**

 **"Stupid brats are still caught up in their idiotic school rivalry." Anko said in an undertone to the others.**

The girls turned their inner anger towards the book Anko.

 **"It has only been two days since graduation." Asuma pointed out, "Plus, they haven't even gone on any missions yet."**

 **Kakashi sighed. "More importantly, Kurenai, where is your last student?"**

Naruto tilted his head to the side, causing Hinata to blush from the cute action. She had moved back beside Naruto instead of on his lap like during the last chapter, and on the inside was wondering why she hasn't passed out yet.

"Yeah, where am I?" Naruto wondered out loud

 **The red-eyed jonin frowned. "I honestly don't know. From everything I have been able to find out about her, this is not like her. I half expected her to be waiting here early."**

The blonde nodded, he would do just that... especially if he was excited.

 **Hayate laughed, before it spluttered into another cough. "That sounds like her. I remember when she was admitted to the academy. She was bouncing around like she was pumped full of pure adrenaline. It would have been cute…if it hadn't been so exhausting." he said after he recovered.**

Naruto blushed a bit at the compliment.

Tenten spoke up at this point though "Is that guy ok? I've seen him a couple of times and he's always coughing... we won't have to worry about anything contagious when working with him, do we?"

Yuki shook his head "From what I gather, at some point in the past he had inhaled some poisonous smoke on a mission. While he's no longer in any danger health-wise, it left him with something like reverse asthma. He'll cough a lot doing normal things, but get him in a fight and it'll vanish until the fighting's over."

 **Asuma chuckled. "Yeah. I remember coming back for a visit when I was a member of the Guardian Ninja Twelve when she was five. I helped move her into her old apartment. She was so excited about getting her own house."**

 **"This trip down memory lane -as fascinating as it is- still begs the question of 'where is Naruko?'" Kakashi said in a monotone.**

Naruto leaned in a bit in anticipation.

 **Just then, the Hokage walked in. He looked between the two groups of genin with a sigh before he strode over to his desk and sat down behind it with yet another sigh.**

 **"Well, now that we're all here, we can begin." Sarutobi said as he shuffled documents on his desk.**

 **"Um...Hokage-sama, Naruko isn't here yet." Sakura said quickly.**

"Yeah, where is she?" Sakura huffed, agreeing with her other

 **"I have to disagree there Sakura-chan. Naruko has been here before the Jonin arrived."**

"Huh?" half the genin stated loudly

 **Sarutobi said with a small chuckle before he raised his voice slightly, "Naruko, you can come out now."**

 **"Awwww, Ji-chan! You spoiled the surprise!" Naruko's voice whined from seemingly nowhere, "You could have waited until I made my entrance!"**

This got a chuckle from those that knew what Naruto was like.

 **The other genin looked around for their fellow ninja, but couldn't catch sight of her. Even the Jonin couldn't find her and were looking around in puzzlement.**

 **"My apologies, Naruko-chan but we do have a lot to get on with, so if you could show yourself, we can get on with it." Sarutobi said firmly.**

 **A small sigh was heard from the hidden kunoichi. "Oh all right." Naruko said sulkily.**

 **Then the ceiling started to collapse, or so the assembled Ninja thought. It was soon evident that it was a giant cloth painted and textured to look exactly like the ceiling of the Hokage's office. Four Shadow Clones of Naruko, _henge_ 'd into wearing her old jumpsuit, had been holding it up at each of the four corners of the office.**

 **"A giant version of _Ninpō: Kakuremino no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Magic Cloak of Invisibility Jutsu)?" Kurenai asked in disbelief, "And we never noticed her presence at all?"**

Naruto was torn by being embarrassed by the praise and preen at the looks of awe most of his fellow genin were sporting.

 **The Shadow Clones rolled up the cloth and laid it to one side before dispelling themselves.**

 **"It takes the concerted effort of up to ten teams of ANBU or the effort of one Umino Iruka to track down and bring in Naruko." Sarutobi said with a small smile, "Add in to that her stealth is above the level required for ANBU entry, and you have nothing to be ashamed of."**

Yuki spoke up, taking off a couple of points with his fingers "Pranks. In orange. In broad daylight. Yes he is that good."

Naruto just seemed to soak in the praise at this point.

 **As the two adults spoke, the real Naruko dropped down to the floor, clad in a fresh set of her new outfit that drew some raised eyebrows. There were only three things different about her from when Sarutobi had seen her the previous day.**

 **The first was that the trench coat now bore the spiral symbol of the Uzumaki Clan on its back and left arm, just as she had told him the previous day.**

 **The second was the addition of an additional hitai-ate tied around her right upper arm, which bore the spiral symbol of Uzushiogakure. Evidently Naruko had come across her mother's possessions after he left.**

Naruto's eyes immediately shot to Yuki's, looking at the god with a look of anxious hope.

Yuki chuckled lightly "I'll take a look around your dimension afterwards and get you one, either your mother's or a traditional Uzushio one."

 **The third and final addition was the sword slung over her right shoulder. It was a katana, with a red-wrapped handle. The Tsuba was circular and was carved to resemble the Uzumaki Clan symbol. The sheath was black with spirals picked out in gold running down its length. Sarutobi recognised it immediately as Kushina's sword, Benihime.**

"I'll look for that one too."

 **He wasn't the only one who recognized the sword. Kakashi went rigid when he saw it, as did Hayate although they did so for entirely different reasons. Kakashi recognized the sword of the person whom his sensei had loved, while Hayate recognized the Meitō (famous named sword) that had belonged to the best swordswoman in all of Konoha.**

Naruto was in awe hearing about his mother while the others were looking at him in awe for having such an awesome mother.

 **"Heya guys." Naruko greeted her fellow graduates, but pointedly ignored Ami, Kasumi and Fuki.**

 **"N-Naruko?" Sakura asked, shocked by her change in attire, "Is that really you?"**

A full body picture of Naruto's outfit popped up onto the screen. Naruto thought it was badass and was definitely going to be getting a male version of it for himself. Ino nodded at the outfit, it passed her judgment and was a lot more stylish than Naruto's own orange jumpsuit.

 ** _'{Shannaro! She looks better without the damn orange monstrosity hiding her! She had better not go after my Sasuke-kun! Cha!}'_ Her inner self shouted.**

This got the others attention, with Ino the first to ask "What the hell was that?"

Yuki spoke before Sakura got a chance to "That is a result of the lack of self-esteem on top of the bullying that Sakura went through, something like a cross between an ID and a split personality. While it can't take control of her body, it often just acts to voice her more brazen thoughts and in actuality is a decent defense against the weaker members of the Yamanaka clan. If you were to dive into Sakura's head Ino, the 'Inner Sakura's fist would be taller than you are."

Ino's just had her jaw hanging open at that.

 **"Yup." The Uzumaki Heiress replied, "Decided to put the jumpsuits away now I'm a real kunoichi and not a student."**

 **"Heh. Clothes don't matter, Dobe." Kiba sneered, "You can't match me. Not now, not ever."**

Yuki smirked as he remembered the Chunin Exam prelims.

 **"We'll see, mutt." Naruko shot back.**

Kiba wanted to be angry at the remark, but seeing how his other is acting, he just couldn't muster the energy.

 **Shikamaru looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Urgh. Do you have to be so troublesome, Naruko?"**

 **Naruko giggled. "Yup."**

 **Shika just held his face in his hands from his seat "Troublesome..."**

 **"…Hn." Sasuke grunted.**

 **"Teme, as always you are a _riveting_ conversationalist." Naruko said sarcastically.**

 **"Baka!" Ino shouted, "Stop calling my Sasuke-kun that!"**

 **"He has to say more than single syllable answers to any question he's asked before that'll happen Ino-chan." Naruko replied cheekily, "Yo Chōji, up for our eating contest after this?"**

The other guys besides Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee snickered at Naruko's comeback, while Chōji's expression brightened at the mention of an eating contest.

 **"You bet!" The rotund boy replied happily. He had always liked Naruko. She had never teased him for his weight and was able to compete with him in eating contests, which was unheard of within Konoha. The Akimichi Clan, with their _Karorī Kontorōru no Jutsu_ (Calorie Control Jutsu) were infamous for consuming an incredibly large amount of food.**

 **The only person to equal them in this department was Naruko when it came to Ramen. Not even his father, Chōza, could out-eat Naruko when it came to Ramen.**

Chōji's eyes looked like they were about to ignite as he looked at Naruto. Challenge Accepted.

 **Shino regarded Naruko speculatively but said nothing. Hinata's face was, as always, somewhat red when she looked at Naruko.**

 **Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Naruko-chan, did you bring what I asked for?" he asked.**

 **"Oh, yeah!" Naruko said as she opened her trench coat, reached in and pulled out a scroll, "Here you go Ji-chan."**

 **She tossed the scroll at the Hokage, who deftly caught it. "My thanks. Take these to the mission counter and you will be paid for both missions." Sarutobi told her as he tossed a pair of scrolls back at Naruko, who caught them with a grin and a nod.**

 **Ignoring the curious looks of her peers, Naruko pocketed the scrolls and pretended that her peers were not regarding her with suspicion.**

 **Sarutobi decided now would be a good time to distract them. "Now, if all genin would line up in their teams?" he asked.**

 **After the genin scrambled into lines, he was unsurprised to see Ami at the head of Team 6, Sasuke at the head of Team 7, Naruko at the head of Team 8 and a reluctant Shikamaru at the head of Team 10.**

There was a barely repressed snort from Ino upon hearing that last part.

 **Turning to the jonin, Sarutobi said, "Now, I would like for you to select a member of your squad to be the second in command. This has no meaning in anything but C-Rank missions and above."**

 **Noticing the half-incredulous looks coming from the genin, Sarutobi told them, "This is a precaution, nothing more, for the unlikely case that your Jonin-sensei is incapacitated for some reason, such as severe chakra exhaustion."**

Wave mission popped into Yuki's head.

 **Sakura stuck her hand up.**

 **"Yes, Sakura-chan? And there's no need to raise your hand to ask a question; you are no-longer at the Academy." Sarutobi said gently.**

Sakura blushed, which deepened when Ino nudged her and smirked at the rosette.

 **"H-Hai, Hokage-sama." Sakura said nervously. She _really_ envied Naruko's easy rapport with the village leader right now, "Err, what would the duties of a second in command actually be?"**

 **"An excellent question, Sakura-chan." Sarutobi said approvingly, making the pinkette blush slightly, "A second in command or Assistant Squad Leader (ASL) is only relevant when the Jonin-sensei is either not around, such as an independent D-Rank or above mission, or if, as I have already said, the Jonin-sensei becomes incapacitated on a C-rank or higher mission."**

 **He paused to light his pipe before continuing, "An ASL is considered to be in charge of the squad until such time as they either revive their Jonin-sensei or the mission is complete, whichever happens first or is more relevant. Disobeying the orders of an ASL is given the same oversight as disobeying the Jonin-sensei, so long as the order falls under the ORP criteria."**

Again, seeing Hiruzen banging his head against the desk over in his brother's section made Yuki's grin widen.

 **"ORP? What the heck is that?" asked Ino.**

 **"ORP. Ordinary, Reasonable and Prudent." explained Sarutobi, "In other words, if an order given is judged by seasoned jonin to be something an ordinary, reasonable and prudent ninja would have followed when it was not, the full weight of the law -military law, not civilian law- would be brought to bear on the one who disobeyed it."**

Yuki snorted thinking to Sasuke's run in with Itachi during the Tsunade retrieval arc. "Sasuke, I've seen your future decisions in life after you graduated. How the hell did you even graduate as rookie of the year?" this got everyone's attention, "In your first run in with your brother-slash-revenge target, you got his attention, then ran at him with a half mastered assassination technique at what would amount as low chunin speeds. He's a high ANBU level opponent and that wouldn't have worked even if you tried to get the element of surprise because the damn technique is so loud and distinctive."

Nobody could refute how idiotic that sounded, not even Sasuke. Yuki continued anyways "Oh right, it's because the real ones that were top of the class held back their skills like true ninja." Shikamaru and Shino "Then there's the fact that it was highly likely that most of the teachers modified your grades to make them higher just like they most likely lowered Naruto's." Nobody could say anything after that.

 **"And if the order was not what an 'ORP' ninja would follow?" Sasuke asked insolence in his body language as if such a thing was beneath him.**

"Again questioning the IQ of his fangirls..." Yuki muttered

 **"Then the ASL would be the one brought under scrutiny instead." Sarutobi replied, looking the arrogant boy in the eyes sternly, "Should the ASL be found wanting, they could face several penalties which, while not as severe as what a chunin or jonin would face in a similar situation, would be most… _unpleasant_ for them, their family's…and their Clan's lands and money."**

 **Sasuke scowled as the warning struck home. With an "Hn" of what could be imagined to be acknowledgement, he shoved his hands in his pockets and remained silent.**

 **"Now, Hayate, who will you recommend?" Sarutobi asked after a lingering look of disappointment at the Uchiha.**

 **"{Cough} I recommend Matsura Ami." Hayate said. Ami smirked arrogantly at this.**

 **"Very well. Kakashi?" Sarutobi hid his concern at the girl's arrogance. It seemed that this year, arrogant ninja were the norm.**

 **"I recommend Haruno Sakura." The silver-haired man said lazily. Sakura looked shocked.**

So did the Sakura listening along.

 **"WHAT!?" snarled Sasuke, "I am an Uchiha! My lineage _demands_ that I be in charge! She is just a civilian!"**

 **"And a mere _kunoichi_." Kiba sneered.**

 **"ENOUGH!" Sarutobi thundered angrily, while Naruko and Hinata glared at Sasuke and Kiba. Team 6, Sakura and Ino were looking at Sasuke with hurt shock at his attitude towards civilians.**

 **"Sasuke, a person's origin does not determine their place in life." Sarutobi spoke softly, but with anger clear in his voice, "Nor does a person's gender, Kiba. I confess to being disappointed in you both. As punishment, all your mission-pay from the next twenty missions is to be forfeited to Haruno Sakura for conduct unbecoming of a shinobi of Konoha. Understood?"**

Even Sasuke was starting to become disgusted with how his other was acting, although he never showed it.

Meanwhile Sakura's crush on Sasuke was starting to die a painful and slow death... with extra dying thrown in.

 **Sasuke and Kiba looked sullen as they nodded bitterly. Sarutobi settled down and motioned to Kurenai.**

 **"I recommend Uzumaki Naruko." she said with a smile. Naruko looked like she had been sucker punched in the gut.**

Yuki stopped any questions "It will tell you later in the story."

 **"Wait, the _Dobe_ is gonna be an ASL?" Ami asked incredulously, "Might as well mark them as KIA right now." Her two flunkies sniggered in agreement with her.**

Naruto was starting to see why the girls hated Ami; he was starting to feel the same way.

 **Naruko glared murderously at Ami, while Ino and Hinata adding their glares to the mix. Team 10 were not too happy either. Sakura was glaring as well, while Sasuke and Kiba looked as if they agreed with Ami.**

Sasuke was sweating while Kiba was shrinking in his seat at the combined glares being sent their way.

 **Sarutobi sighed. It seemed Ami, Sasuke and Kiba were this year's troublemakers. "Ami, cease this childish idea that you are superior to others based on academic records and do not ridicule others in such a cruel manner or I will punish you as I have Sasuke and Kiba." he said in an almost resigned way, while his eyes glowered at the civilian-born genin.**

 **Ami quailed at the look the Hokage gave her and shut up with an almost inaudible "Hai."**

 **"Asuma, what about you?" Sarutobi asked.**

 **"I recommend Nara Shikamaru." Asuma replied. Shikamaru huffed and muttered his family's catchphrase, "Troublesome."**

 **"Very well. I fully endorse the recommendations of the Jonin." the Hokage said formally, "Ami, Sakura, Naruko, Shikamaru; do you accept the responsibility offered to you?"**

 **"Hell yeah!" crowed Ami, who had recovered from her fear somewhat.**

 **"I-I…yes. I accept, Hokage-sama." Sakura said standing straighter.**

 **"Nobody'll get to my friends while I'm on the job! I'm in." Naruko stated forcefully, shooting Ami a quick scowl.**

"Damn right!" Naruto shouted, agreeing wholeheartedly with his other.

 **"Troublesome. Okaa-san will nag me to death if I don't accept. I'll do it." grumbled Shikamaru.**

 **"Very good." Sarutobi said. "The second reason I have called you here is to inform you of the Genin Housing Act."**

 **"What's that?" asked Fuki, who had been silent so far.**

 **"Rather basically, it means that each team will be living in the same house or apartment together." replied Sarutobi.**

 **The genin, aside from Naruko, looked at the Hokage in shock. Then Sasuke crossed his arms.**

 **"I'll pass on this." he stated unequivocally.**

 **"You have no choice." Sarutobi shot back, eyes narrowed at the Last Uchiha, "Unless you resign as a ninja, you _will_ comply with my command."**

 **Sasuke scowled again. "Why do we have to do this?" he spat out.**

 **"I believe that it will help improve your teamwork faster. Living together and working together should help you all bond more quickly and thus raise the speed of your on-the-job efficiency." Sarutobi explained, " In addition, having to pay for your utilities, such as water and electricity, out of your mission pay and standard genin pay will teach you a sense of responsibility and aid in your maturity, which will be needed on C-Rank and above missions and the Chunin Selection Exams."**

 **Sasuke did not look convinced. "I disagree strongly with this. If I'm living elsewhere, who will maintain the Uchiha Compound?" he argued.**

 **"The Uchiha compound is in _dire_ need of extensive maintenance anyway Sasuke." Sarutobi said firmly, "I'm sure that you have done your best to hold the fort there, but the fact of the matter is that it took at _least_ twenty people, sometimes as many as fifty, to maintain the small things on a day-to-day basis, let alone what any serious repairs required. So far, you have refused all offers at aid in that department, but with this, I am afraid you will have to relent."**

Yuki stared at Sasuke until it seemed the boy got the hint.

 **Seeing there was nothing to be done, Sasuke huffed slightly and said nothing.**

 **Glad that the Uchiha had acceded, albeit reluctantly, Sarutobi continued with his briefing. "Your Jonin-sensei have a set of keys for each of you, plus an extra set of their own for emergencies. The houses have been stocked with a week's worth of food, but I advise that you make up a shopping list so everyone can get whatever else you need for now."**

 **Seeing that the genin had calmed down and accepted the idea, Sarutobi smiled. "OK then. Teams 6, 7 and 10 can move out and start moving out, pardon the pun. Team 8; stay behind as there are additional things to be discussed."**

Naruto snickered lightly at the pun.

* * *

Meanwhile in two separate worlds

An immortal centaur sneezed before telling his charges that Argus, the head of security at their camp, would 'keep an eye on things' before sending them off onto a quest.

A buxom blonde huntress-in-training, sneezed before heading off to find a Yangin' club to get a drink at, and maybe find more on her mother.

* * *

Back with the readers...

 **As the other genin filed out after their sensei, they snuck looks at Team 8, no doubt wondering what the Hokage wanted with them. Had Naruko perhaps played another prank on a prominent clan again?**

 **Once the door had closed behind them, Sarutobi got up and swiftly knelt next to Naruko. "Don't believe what Ami said." He told her as he looked into her sapphire blue eyes, which had been quivering with barely concealed fear when the others hadn't been looking, ever since Ami had so flippantly made her cruel remark.**

This got the genins' attentions, what would have the ever brave and confident Naruto/Naruko so scared?

 **"But-But yesterday they were almost killed just because they were on the same squad as me, Ji-chan." Naruko whispered brokenly, "What if it happens again? What if one of them gets hurt or even _dies_ because some idiot who was after me gets them instead? I don't think I could take it if that happened."**

The girls felt sad and were agreeing more and more with the thought a few chapters back 'and they think he/she's a demon?'

 **"Naruko…" Ino whispered as she saw the usually strong girl tremble in fear and self-doubt. Drawing herself up, Ino strode forward and roughly spun Naruko around. Sarutobi wisely got out of the firing line of the irate kunoichi.**

 **"Now you listen here Uzumaki Naruko!" Ino snarled, "Get it through your head that Hinata and I are both kunoichi too! Having brushes with death is a risk we accepted when we accepted our hitai-ate! So don't you _dare_ try and coddle us!"**

 **Naruko stared at Ino in ill-disguised shock. "You don't understand-" she tried to say, before Ino cut her off.**

 **"You mean how everyone thinks you're the Kyūbi reborn just because you were the only one born that day?" the Yamanaka Heiress snorted in disgust as she spoke.**

 **Naruko, Sarutobi, Kurenai and Anko went rigid at these words. "How'd you…?" Naruko asked timorously.**

 **"I did some thinking, and then daddy told me his suspicions." Ino replied, "He seemed just as irritated as I am by the whole thing. Really! As if Hokage-sama would have let you live in the village if that was the case!"**

 **Sarutobi relaxed slightly. He had to admit; focusing the girl on one part of the villagers' misguided beliefs was a smart thing on Inoichi's part, even more so because it offended Ino that people would think such a thing of one of _her_ friends. Ino had always been highly protective of those close to her and this latest incident with her own cousin trying to kill Naruko seemed to have kicked that instinct into overdrive.**

Copying Naruto's previous outburst, Ino nodded with her other's protectiveness "Damn Straight!"

 **"Naruko-chan." Hinata, up until now silent, walked forward to stand next to Ino, "I-I understand that y-you want to protect us, and I a-appreciate the thought, but Ino-chan is right. We are kunoichi a-and we will risk dying on an m-mission eventually. Please, trust us. We are y-your teammates and I no more believe that you are the Kyūbi than Ino-chan does."**

 **That did it. Naruko grabbed her teammates into a tight hug and cried freely, for the first time in who knows how long, all the while sobbing out her thanks to them. Although startled at first, Ino and Hinata returned the hug with feeling, sensing that their friend needed this.**

Naruto was in tears while Hinata held him in her arms.

Ino, meanwhile, was torn. She wanted to go over and comfort her fellow blonde too...

 **Kurenai, Anko and Sarutobi smiled at the sight before them. Even although the two other genin kunoichi didn't know the full truth yet, they still dismissed the idea that Naruko was the Kyūbi reincarnated without a second thought, which boded well for when Naruko told them the real truth.**

 ** _'Naruko, trust in your friends. They will not let you down.'_ Sarutobi thought as he watched the girl who was his granddaughter in all but blood weep herself dry.**

 **At length, Naruko recovered her composure and apologised to her friends for doubting them.**

 **"Don't let it happen again!" Ino said, her threatening tone mitigated by her gentle smile. Hinata blushed red and pushed her forefingers together in embarrassment.**

 **"Naruko, is that your mother's sword?" Sarutobi asked, trying to lighten the mood.**

 **"Yeah, I found her last night." Naruko said, brightening slightly, "Do you want to see her?"**

The screen changed into a short video on what was happening.

 **"If you wouldn't mind." Sarutobi replied. Naruko reached back, grasped the hilt and drew the sword, which made a metallic {ZING} sound as it was drawn.**

 **The blade was a work of art; there was no other way to describe it. The distinctive ripple of master-forged steel reflected back at the watching ninja. Engraved on the blade were intricately worked waves, tides and swirls that almost seemed to be in motion.**

Tenten's mouth was watering at the craftsmanship she was seeing, while Neji scooted away from her with a slightly disturbed look on his face.

 **"W-Wow…" Breathed Hinata. Ino was, rather unusually for her, speechless at the sight of the sword. Anko whistled appreciatively and Kurenai could only nod in silent agreement with her friend.**

 **"Beautiful, isn't she?" Naruko said proudly.**

 **"Naruko, why do you keep referring to the sword as a female?" Sarutobi asked curiously.**

 **Naruko grinned. "Only a lady could be as beautiful as Benihime here." she replied.**

 **"'Crimson Princess'?" Kurenai asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"Beats 'Ryūketsu Shinigami' any day of the week." Naruko replied with a shrug.**

 **This time, Anko was the one to raise an eyebrow. "Wow, _that_ name takes me back. 'Bloody Reaper' used to make the Kiri-nin run for the hills as soon as Kushina-sama drew it. Aside from the Seven Swordsmen."**

Anko's eyebrows weren't the only ones to go up as the group had their own awe-filled expressions.

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "Yes, but then only a couple of them could go toe-to-toe with Kushina on anything approaching an even footing. The rest were beaten to a bloody pulp and never dared challenge her again if they survived."**

 **He then looked at Naruko seriously. "I must warn you, do not let anyone else try and hold the blade once you have bloodied it. It will be sealed to you and no one else will be able to hold it after it is drawn from the sheath." He warned Naruko sternly.**

Tenten's half shouted/half begged "What?! Why?!" was ignored for the moment.

 **"Yeah, there was a note on it from the Nidaime Uzukage, Uzumaki Rensa." Naruko replied, "She was the one who made it."**

 **"Wait, _Uzukage_? Uzumaki Rensa?" Ino asked, confused.**

 **"The Uzukage was the leader of Uzushiogakure no Sato, which was destroyed at the start of the Third Great Shinobi War." Naruko replied, "And most of the population of Uzushiogakure was made up of the Uzumaki Clan, so all of the Uzukage's were Uzumaki's. Rensa-baa-chan was my Great-Great-Great Grandmother."**

Naruto was soaking in any knowledge he could about his family.

Yuki spoke up "The history and names vary from dimension to dimension, I'll add in a scroll on some history for your own Lineage afterwards Naruto. As for anyone else, if you see something that your other has that you want, I'll give you scrolls on it before you're sent home, but only for what your others have learned. You will not be getting techniques your classmates learn unless your other learns them too." he looked at Sasuke "Which means that any jutsu that Naruto or Naruto learn you cannot ask for unless your own other learns it too."

 **"You're in the same situation as Sasuke-san." Hinata breathed.**

 **Naruko snorted. "And unlike him, I'm not a teme about it. He is such an EMO!"**

Yuki snorted and muttered to himself "That meme has become so distorted..."

 **Sarutobi interrupted before Mount. Ino could erupt. "Have you thought of a new name for Benihime yet?" he asked.**

The question was enough to distract Ino from the snickers at the nickname.

 **"Not yet." Naruko said with a shake of her head, "I mean it's not something to decide on at the drop of a hat!"**

 **"Very true." Sarutobi said approvingly, "Kushina was careful not to use Benihime until she had decided on a name. She used an ANBU ninjatō until then. I would advise you to do the same."**

 **"Right." Naruko nodded as she re-sheathed Benihime.**

 **"I don't get it." Ino said with a frown, "It's a nice sword, sure, but why can't anyone use it once Naruko's blooded it? And why is it so special?"**

 **"There are cunningly wrought seals on the blade and hilt that react badly to such a thing happening." Sarutobi replied, "If someone other than the chosen wielder tries to hold it, Benihime sends a massive electrical shock up their arm, directly through the tenketsu and into the chakra network."**

Hinata and Neji both gasped upon hearing that "B-But that w-would cause irreparable damage!" causing the rest of the group to gain shocked looks.

Yuki halfheartedly glared at them "Can you not do that?"

Hinata looked back at Yuki "D-Do what?"

Yuki went back to the book and read the next line,

 **Hinata's eyes widened. "T-That kind of damage would be irreparable!" she exclaimed. As a Hyūga, she was an expert on attacks on the chakra network, so nobody disbelieved her.**

Then looked back at Hinata and Neji, causing the girl to blush and Neji to look away in attempt to hide his slightly reddening cheeks.

 **"And as for why it is so special…" Sarutobi said with a small smile, "The one who wields Benihime -or whatever the wielder calls the blade- is the Heir or Heiress of the Uzumaki Clan."**

 **"Not that being the Heiress is any great feat when it's just me in the Clan." Naruko muttered.**

 **Ino smacked her lightly across the back of the head. "Stop trying to be like Sasuke-kun! You can't be as cool as he is, so stop trying!"**

 **"Who'd _want_ to be like Sasuke-teme?!" Naruko shot back as she rubbed her head where Ino had hit her, "And I wasn't _trying_ to be like him anyway!"**

 **"Yeah? Well you were doing a half-decent attempt at it!" Ino retorted. Kurenai and Anko hid smiles as they saw what Ino was doing.**

 **"LIKE HELL!" Naruko shouted indignantly.**

Yuki couldn't keep the smirked off his face when he saw the exact same look on Naruto's face as his other had in the book.

 **Sarutobi coughed. "As…important as this must be too you two, I should tell you all what I held your team back for, would you say Naruko?"**

 **Naruko brightened and grinned mischievously. A grin that Sarutobi returned, making Ino and Hinata shift nervously.**

 **"Now, unlike the other teams, Team 8 will not be moved into an ordinary house or apartment." Sarutobi said once he finished grinning at Naruko, "This is for the reason that Ino-chan here recently discovered."**

 **Ino and Hinata cursed under their breaths at the villagers in general.**

 **"While I disagree with your way of expressing yourselves on the subject, I agree with your sentiments." Sarutobi told them wryly, "Anyway, Naruko recently defeated Toji Mizuki, last of the Toji Clan, when he was about to become a Nuke-nin, thus she qualified for both the Spoils of Victory Act, as well as the Conquering Clan Act."**

This got quite the confused looks from everyone.

 **Hinata's jaw dropped. "Y-You mean Naruko-chan now owns everything that once b-belonged to Mizuki? A-And everything his Clan owned too?" she blurted out in astonishment.**

 **"Just so." Sarutobi said, Seeing the incomprehension and stupefaction on the faces on the two jonin and Ino, Sarutobi explained, "The Spoils of Victory Act was passed by the Shodaime as an incentive to capture Nuke-nin before they left the village. Anyone who succeeds in capturing a Nuke-nin before they leave the village, as long as the captor is from a Clan, is entitled to all ninja equipment owned by the Nuke-nin.**

 **The Conquering Clan Act was actually introduced by my sensei, Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage, when several smaller clans were severely reduced or wiped out during the Great Shinobi Wars. There was a lot of nonsense about honour duels between shinobi who were the last of their clan back then, so Tobirama-sensei, having gotten sick of the whole business, made this law to put a stop to it. Very basically, if the last members of two separate clans fight, the loser cedes all belongings, properties and monies to the victor.**

Yuki winced, remembering the fight between Sasuke and Naruto at the valley of the end.

 **As you can imagine, after the first couple of losers did lose everything of their clan, the honour duels tapered of fairly quickly."**

 **"No doubt." Kurenai muttered in shock.**

 **"So the gaki gets Mizuki's room at the barracks?" Anko asked, seemingly unperturbed and unimpressed.**

 **"No, no." Sarutobi replied, "She gets the Toji Clan's Compound and estate in the Clan Residential District, in addition to everything in it, a few shares in various businesses in and out of Konoha, as well as any and all Clan Jutsu and styles formerly belonging to the Toji Clan."**

 **Anko actually staggered slightly. "She gets ownership of the _Fūshiryū_ (Wind Death Dragon) Fūma Shuriken style?" she asked weakly.**

Upon seeing everyone's looks, Yuki waved them off "It was a style unique to that dimension to sorta explain why Mizuki used Dai Shuriken when he attempted to kill Naruto and Iruka. Defeating him and protecting your former teacher is pretty much the reason, on top of learning the Shadow Clone, why Naruto graduated."

 **Seeing that Naruko was confused, Sarutobi said, "A style that focuses on using Fūma Shuriken in close combat. The Toji Clan was well known for their prowess with the style and several members were well known for fighting several foes at once while using it."**

"Fūma Shuriken are large shuriken with a single edge to each blade, while Dai Shuriken are just large shuriken that look like enlarged normal shuriken."

 **"Cool. Definitely have to add one to my 'special arsenal'." Naruko said with a smirk.**

 **"That would be a good idea." Sarutobi agreed, "Moving on, Naruko here has spent the last few days cleaning the place up, as it has not been used in twenty years. I believe I shall have to pay you for, let's see now, four D-Rank Missions for your hard work Naruko-chan."**

 **"Ji-chan, I was just cleaning my new house!" Naruko protested.**

 **"An estate that can house fifty people comfortably, not to mention moderately large grounds that need a gardeners touch." Sarutobi said dryly. "I think you deserve the money for the effort. Not to mention the fact that I'm taking liberty with your property by making it your genin team's home."**

 **"Well…if you say so Ji-chan." Naruko brightened slightly, "Hey that makes four solo D-Ranks, one solo B-Rank _and_ one solo A-Rank, all before I'm an official genin! Beat that, Sasuke-teme!"**

Sasuke ruthlessly crushed the feeling of jealousy that had attempted to rise upon hearing that.

 **Ino smiled ruefully. Even she had to admit that Naruko had beaten Sasuke here. But still…**

 **"Baka! Stop calling him a teme!" Ino shouted as she bopped Naruko across the head lightly, just hard enough to get her point across.**

 **"But he _is_ a teme, Ino-chan!" Naruko retorted, "Look at how he treated Sakura-chan just now!"**

Sakura blushed and shyly looked at the ground, hearing how vehemently Naruto/Naruko protected her honor like that.

 **Ino faltered slightly. She knew Naruko had a point. Sakura hadn't done anything to deserve those scathing remarks about her origin. And as for Kiba…**

 **"I'm more worried about Kiba, actually." Ino said, chewing her lip slightly, "I mean, you saw how he treated Forehead as well, right? What if he tries something with her?"**

 **"He'll get neutered." Naruko said flatly, "If not by me or you, then by Tsume-sama or Hana-sempai. He's an idiot, but he isn't _that_ foolish."**

Everyone ignored Kiba's loud whimper as the boy instinctively curled into a ball on the floor while protecting his junk. He had seen the last idiot that got neutered by his mother after all.

 **"He'd _better_ not be that stupid." Anko growled a kunai in one hand that Sarutobi couldn't remember her having drawn.**

Ok, now the whimpering was getting louder, but was still ignored in favor of most of the genin wondering where she hid it, and Tenten wondering if the woman would teach her how to do it.

 **"I am certain that Kiba will behave himself." Sarutobi said in a placating manner, "And I have taken the precaution of giving Haruno Sakura a chakra sensitive locking seal on her door. None but she can open the door, and the door itself is reinforced with several seals that make it resilient to all but high rank fire jutsu."**

 **"That…ought to make her relatively safe." Kurenai said thoughtfully, "This is supposing that Inuzuka Kiba is stupid enough to try to do something to her, of course."**

 **"I'm going to start working on Fūinjutsu." Naruko said grimly, "I was looking over the index of the Uzumaki Fūinjutsu Library and there are some useful seals in there, like one that sends up a chakra flare when certain conditions are violated the _Koware Kyōkai Fūin_ (Broken Boundary Seal)."**

 **Sarutobi's head snapped around at that. "You could have that seal made?" he asked quickly.**

 **"My calligraphy needs some work before I can begin to learn even basic storage seals and explosive tags." Naruko said thoughtfully, "But with my clones and access to Iruka-sensei, I could probably get to the point of creating an intermediate seal like the Koware Kyōkai Fūin in about three months, perhaps two if I really abuse my clones."**

 **"Do it." Sarutobi said, making it an order, "That seal could be far more useful than just guarding a genin's bedroom. Consider this an ongoing C-Rank mission."**

Naruto's expression shot up. That seal is that important? And he'd get to learn it?!

 **Naruko snapped to attention. "Hai, Hokage-sama." she said seriously, soldier to commander rather than granddaughter to grandfather as she usually did.**

 **Sarutobi nodded. "Now, let's head to Team 8's new home. Naruko-chan, send some clones to the Hyūga estate and the Yamanaka Flower Shop to pick up your teammates things."**

 **Naruko nodded and created fifty shadow clones, which split into two groups and sped off out the door to the homes of her teammates.**

 **"Why do I suddenly feel like I unleashed gremlins in a machine shop?" Sarutobi asked aloud, "Oh, that's right - I just sent fifty Naruko's out into Konoha without supervision."**

 **Naruko pouted at this remark.**

Everyone else chuckled as Naruto copied his other in pouting

* * *

 **Ten minutes later**

 **Gate to Former Toji Clan Estate, Clan Residential District**

 **"That…is an impressive gate." Anko deadpanned. Team 8 and the Hokage stood in front of what was indeed an impressive gate. The gate itself was three meters high and made of intricately woven steel, forming a kind of lattice. In structure, the gate would be termed a Nijūmon (Two Story Gate) as it had a second floor that was obviously accessible, considering it had a half dozen of Naruko-clones standing guard on the second level.**

While the gate looked impressive from the picture, seeing the Naruko clones kinda ruined any intimidation factor it might've had.

Naruko is just too cute.

 **"Impressive, but useless against shinobi." Kurenai said critically.**

 **Naruko shrugged and walked over to the gate and stopped on top of a circular indentation just in front of the gate and turned towards the group.**

 **"I, Uzumaki Naruko, Clan Heiress of the Uzumaki Clan, do recognize Yamanaka Ino, Hyūga Hinata, Mitarashi Anko and Yūhi Kurenai as honoured guests and allies of the Uzumaki Clan." the last Uzumaki said in a clear voice, "They may come and go from here at their own discretion."**

 **The indentation glowed and the impressive gate behind her retracted into the ground with barely a well-oiled click, leaving Team 8 gawking. Naruko merely turned and walked through the gateway as if it was an everyday occurrence, which it probably was for her.**

Ok, now everyone was in awe seeing that.

 **"…How?" Kurenai got out.**

"That's what we'd like to know" Ino muttered in a mixture of irritation and awe.

 **"The original Clan Compounds of Konoha have defenses that activate when the seals that govern them detect that the bloodline they are keyed to be reduced to a single member." Sarutobi told them as he led them through the gateway, "A lot of them were created by the Nidaime Hokage and, when he forced through the Conquering Clan Act, he altered those seals to also detect when his law had been invoked correctly, so as you can see, Naruko is well protected here."**

 **"But that gate-" Kurenai started to ask, before the sight before her made her speechless.**

 **A beautiful oriental manor stood proudly before them, made in the _Buke-Zukuri_ style (Military Family Style) of a traditional aristocrat's palace. The main stone-paved path was lined on either side by Komainu (Lion-Dog) statues, with the occasional pair of Kitsune statues here and there.**

 **That sight was breath-taking enough, but the army of Naruko clones running through katas across the grounds was even more so. Especially since the clones were practicing a style that none of Team 8 recognized.**

 **"This is the Uzushiogakure version of our own _Hakage_ style, the _Ushio-ken_." Sarutobi explained, "In order to learn her Clan Style, Naruko has to master this style first."**

Ok, that level of puppy dog eyes from Naruto should be illegal "It's in the list..."

 **"Shouldn't she focus on fixing the errors in the _Hakage_ style that she knows first, before she learns an advanced Taijutsu style like that one?" Kurenai asked.**

 **Sarutobi gave her a strange look. "Kurenai that _is_ a basic style that was taught to entry-level genin in Uzushiogakure." he said carefully.**

 **Kurenai's eyes bulged slightly. "But…that taijutsu, at least from what I could make of the kata, was more advanced than the style that _I_ use!" she exclaimed.**

 **The Hokage shrugged. "Uzu had much higher expectations of its genin. Of course almost every shinobi in Uzu, with a few exceptions, were members of the Uzumaki Clan." he replied.**

Oh my, the awe is contagious...

 **"Damn. The gaki's not doing too badly." Anko said appreciatively, "Hey old man, won't she need to spar in order to improve her style some more?"**

 **"From what I hear Anko, your services will not be needed in that department." The Hokage replied with a chuckle, "Gai-kun has asked to be allowed to give her remedial taijutsu lessons, as well as give her stamina, muscle and endurance training, subject to Kurenai's permission of course."**

 **Kurenai's eyebrow twitched. _'First she goes to Iruka for advice on the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, then she says she's going to have remedial calligraphy lessons with Iruka and now Gai is wanting to give her training as well. Is she even my student?'_**

 **Aloud, she said carefully, "Hokage-sama, is it just me, or is everyone trying to poach my student?"**

 **Sarutobi chuckled again as they approached the entrance to the mansion proper. "I'm certain it seems that way to you Kurenai, but Naruko has been quite severely handicapped by the Academy sensei and their sabotage. She requires help in areas that you yourself have admitted you have little skill in: your calligraphy is average at best and you are a genjutsu expert with, again, average skill in taijutsu. I would advise you to allow Iruka-kun and Gai-kun to aid her in those areas and focus on her chakra control and adding a few ninjutsu to her arsenal."**

 **Kurenai grumbled at first, but accepted it with a slight sagging of her shoulders.**

 **Naruko was waiting for them at the front door, a smile on her face. "This way." she called over her shoulder as she opened the door and stepped through, closely followed by Team 8 and the Hokage.**

 **The interior of the building was surprisingly spartan for such a fancy mansion, although Naruko explained that she had gathered up most of the expensive things and sealed them in storage scrolls, as well as throwing out most of the damaged things.**

 **"Ji-chan told me about the G.H.A. yesterday, so I set some of my clones to setting up rooms for Ino-chan and Hinata-chan, as well as rooms for Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei for if they want to stay here." Naruko told them as they walked towards the living quarters.**

 **"Naruko, you didn't have to do that!" Kurenai protested.**

 **The Uzumaki Heiress shrugged. "It was more for Anko-sensei, because Ji-chan told me her landlord is being a teme again." she replied.**

"Yes, Naruto. Just like yours. Maybe you can talk to the Hokage about getting you ownership over your apartment complex or something."

 **Anko looked briefly surprised, before sending a small glare towards Sarutobi, who had an innocent look on his face.**

 **The Snake Mistress turned back to Naruko. "I won't accept charity, gaki, so I'll be paying you rent. Understand?"**

 **Naruko nodded. "How much does your landlord charge you, Anko-sensei?" she asked.**

 **"Five hundred ryo a month for a dingy little apartment." Anko said sourly.**

 **Naruko scowled. That was how much _she_ had had to pay for her old apartment.**

That got the more financially sound of the genin to get that sour look too, either that or he left out some unsweetened lemonade by mistake...

 **"I think two hundred a month is more than enough, wouldn't you say." Naruko offered.**

 **"Deal!" Anko said quickly, making Kurenai and the Hokage laugh. Ino and Hinata giggled at the mutual accord the two had struck.**

 **"I'll draw up a rental contract later on." Sarutobi said once he stopped laughing, "Would tomorrow be acceptable?"**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." Anko said with a small grin.**

 **"Here we are." Naruko said as they reached a wall that had a five pointed star that had symbols on its points representing the five elemental ninjutsu on it and a Yin and Yang symbol in the centre.**

"A dead end?" Ino asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

 **"A dead end?" Ino asked bluntly.**

Everyone chuckled as Ino blushed at the echoed comment.

 **"Nope, a Karakuri hidden door." Naruko said with a grin. She walked up to the wall and hit the elements in a specific order so fast that no one could see the order. With a grinding clank, the Yin and Yang centre of the star opened up, revealing a switch.**

 **Naruko flipped the switch up and down before pushing it in and quickly withdrawing her hand. The flap for the switch compartment closed with a snap and the entire wall shuddered before sinking into the ground, revealing a corridor beyond it.**

 **"This way." Naruko said as she stepped through the doorway.**

Everyone was in awe as they watched, Karakuri mechanisms weren't really known in their Elemental Nations outside of the Suna puppets after all.

 **"Yeesh, the Toji Clan was paranoid." Anko muttered as they followed Naruko. Behind them, the door clanked shut again.**

 **"You think _that's_ paranoid? Aside from the living quarters, the entire mansion is nothing but one giant trap!" Naruko called over her shoulders as they walked into the living room.**

 **Sitting down, Naruko continued, "The rest of the mansion is a decoy. The entire Clan lived in this wing, which is marked down as being 'storage' on almost every blueprint you look at. There are traps of all sorts across the entirety of the decoy-part of the mansion, which are controlled from a special room in the basement of this section."**

 **"How'd you get into this section then? If you didn't know it was here, then it might as well not exist." asked Kurenai.**

The others were just as curious; some even going as far as to lean forward in anticipation.

 **"The key line is 'almost every blueprint,' Kurenai-sensei." Naruko replied, "Almost none of the blueprints submitted to the Civil Management Office are anything close to accurate, but the secret files in the Hokage's office are 100% accurate and have to be by law."**

 **"Makes sense." Anko remarked, "If you have a rowdy Clan that needs putting down, having an accurate layout is critical to reducing casualties."**

 **"Just so." Sarutobi said with an approving nod at Anko's deduction. "The Toji Clan specialised in creating Karakuri mechanisms, as well as their unique shuriken fighting style, so it is of no surprise that their mansion is a death-trap once the mechanisms are activated."**

 **Ino gulped. Noticing the uneasiness in Ino's posture, Naruko gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Ino-chan. The traps are deactivated and only the Clan Heir or Clan Head can activate them." she reassured her friend, who smiled back and nodded her thanks.**

 **A loud clank signalled the arrival of the platoon of Naruko-clones carrying Ino and Hinata's stuff.**

 **"Let's get you girls settled in!" Naruko said enthusiastically.**

* * *

 **The Next Day, 11.00am**

 **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower**

 **"Team 8, reporting for duty Hokage-sama." Kurenai said with a small smile. Behind her, Naruko, Ino and Hinata were waiting for their first mission. Well, Naruko had already _technically_ completed six missions and was on her seventh, but this was her first mission as a member of a team.**

Again, Sasuke quashed the feelings of jealousy

 **"Indeed." smiled Sarutobi. Next to him was Iruka, who nodded to Naruko with a grin.**

 **"Let's see here…" Sarutobi said, looking through the scrolls of D-Ranks for a decent one. "Ah, here we are. The Konoha Hospital ordered a delivery of medicine from Kusa no Kuni and it is waiting in the warehouse for delivery."**

 **Kurenai looked at her genin. Naruko didn't like hospitals and was slightly pale, but nodded at her. Ino and Hinata were indifferent to the mission.**

"Soo... Many... Needles..."

 **"Team 8 accepts the mission." Kurenai said, taking the scroll from the Hokage. "Team 8, move out!" she ordered and they did indeed move out.**

 **Thanks to Naruko's Shadow Clones, Team 8 finished the delivery mission in good time to accept another one, this time weeding a garden.**

The members of the story's squad 8 who were listening to the story (I.E. Naruto, Ino, and Hinata) perked up at that.

Naruto because of his gardening hobby.

Hinata for her flower pressing hobby and her mother's garden.

Ino for her clan's store.

 **Hinata and Ino were the ones to shine in this mission, Ino because of her knowledge of botany and Hinata because she grew herbs as a hobby, so Naruko had taken her lead from them.**

Naruto pouted and got a giggle and a sympathetic pat on the head from Hinata. It seemed that his other didn't have the same hobby.

 **The Hokage had been very pleased with Team 8 and had dismissed them early so they could help Anko move into Naruko's home.**

 **"Jeez, Anko-sensei. You like bondage or something?" Naruko asked as a full body latex suit fell out of a box onto the floor of Anko's former apartment, much to Anko's embarrassment. Ino and Hinata went bright red at the sight, with Hinata fainting at Naruko's words.**

So did a few of the others, either out of embarrassment (the girls minus Tenten), mortification (Naruto and Chōji), or due to a nosebleed (Kiba).

Yuki waited until they were conscious again before continuing

 **"So what if I do gaki?" Anko shot back, a blush on her face.**

 **"Soooo…you like being tied up?" Ino asked her face still red.**

 **"And who says that _I'm_ the one who's tied up?" Anko said with a lecherous grin on her face.**

 **"B-But that's a _female_ bodysuit!" Ino pointed out.**

 **"And?" Anko asked unperturbed, "I like girls _and_ guys."**

And Kiba was out like a light again.

 **"Eh? You can do that?" Naruko asked, curiously.**

 **"Yeah, 'course you can." Anko replied as she put the suit back in the box and secured the lid properly before giving it to a Naruko-clone, "Quite a few kunoichi bat for the other team, although most of 'em aren't as open about it as I am. Then you get kunoichi like me, who are, as I like to call it, greedy and bat for both teams."**

 **"ANKO!" Kurenai shrieked her face bright red, "This is hardly appropriate for three twelve year olds! They shouldn't even do… _that_ …until they're married!"**

 **"Firstly Nai-chan, they are legally adults. Old enough to kill, old enough to sleep with someone, or even listen to someone talk about bondage." Anko said seriously, "Second, don't try and enforce your morals on others. I know you don't approve of the fact I like girls as well as boys, but it's up to these gakis to decide for themselves who and what they like, _not_ you."**

 **The three genin gulped as the small apartment filled with tension as the two jonin stared each other in the eyes, both unwilling to concede the point.**

The genin that were awake at the moment gulped, thankful that they weren't anywhere near that argument.

 **Naruko looked between the two older females and sighed. _'Why the hell does everything I ask always end up causing problems?'_ she thought and clapped her hands once, which broke the tension and drew the attention of Anko and Kurenai.**

 **"Look, I only asked because I was curious. I don't want you two fighting because of a question I asked." Naruko said, "And for the record, Anko-sensei is right. We decide who we like, not you Kurenai-sensei. I will listen to your opinion, but I will like who I like regardless."**

 **"Attagirl, gaki!" Anko said, clapping Naruko on the back heartily, "Now, wake up Hinata there so we can get this show on the road!"**

 **As her team scurried around handing boxes to Naruko-clones, Kurenai frowned. Naruko and Anko, in constant close proximity, for an extended period….**

 **…This was a bad thing.**

 ** _'They'll either kill each other, or Naruko will end up bound in that latex suit.'_ Kurenai concluded with a feeling of dread.**

And Kiba's down for a third time.

"And that's the end of that chapter, the next one is Chapter 7: More D-Ranks, Training and the Flames."

Those that knew what the 'flames' entailed shivered, except for Lee.


	8. Ch 7: More D-Rains, Training and Flames

**AN: Sorry for the late upload. With work going on, I can only work on my stories on the weekends, and even then I may not get finished in time to update. So forgive me for making you wait.**

* * *

Yuki flipped the page to the next chapter, " **Chapter 7: More D-Ranks, Training and the Flames of Youth!** "

 **08.00am, 1 Week Later**

 **New Uzumaki Clan Compound, Clan Residential District**

 **Naruko walked into the kitchen, yawning tiredly. She was wearing panties and a shirt, her usual sleepwear. She waved a hello to Ino, who was already at the table eating a very spartan meal, which was a very small salad.**

There were various amounts of blush among the boys as they pictured what Naruko's sleepwear looked like, well... it looked like Hinata was blushing for Naruto, who just had his head tilted to the side. Hard to find yourself arousing after all, no matter the gender. He wasn't that narcissistic after all.

 **"Is Hinata-chan up yet?" Naruko asked as she grabbed a cup Ramen from the cupboard.**

That got a slight scowl from the 'dieters'.

 **"Yeah, I think she's doing her morning warm-ups in the training room." Ino replied after she swallowed her mouthful of greens before her eyes zeroed in on the cup Ramen Naruko was filling with hot water.**

 **"Urgh, you _need_ to eat something other than Ramen, Naruko." the Yamanaka Heiress said, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the instant**

 **"Just as soon as you start eating more than an anorexic sparrow, Ino-chan." Naruko retorted as she waited impatiently for her breakfast to cook.**

That got a couple of chuckles.

 **"You both have a point brats." a voice said from behind them. Turning around, Ino and Naruko immediately blushed red at the sight before them.**

 **Leaning on the doorframe with her hands crossed underneath her breasts was Anko, wearing a wide grin and nothing else. Literally.**

The blushes increased tenfold before Kiba was thrown back by a fountain nosebleed that knocked him out.

 **"Anko-sensei!" Ino yelped and swung around to face away from the naked kunoichi, "Put on some _clothes_!"**

 **"Meh. We're all girls here." Anko pointed out, "Why so shy, Flower Girl?"**

 **Ino growled at the nickname. Anko had given it to her after discovering that Ino was not only knowledgeable about flowers, but also almost obsessed with them. She never missed the chance to tease Ino about it.**

Naruto and Hinata perked up and looked at Ino, with Naruto speaking up "Gardening tips later?"

Ino thought about it for a moment before she gave a nod, "Sure."

 **"Because it's not _decent_ to walk around naked!" Ino retorted, face still red as a rising sun.**

 **"Do tell who's going to see me other than you three gakis?" Anko challenged, "And even if they do, so what? I'm damn proud of my body, so as they say: If you've got it, flaunt it!" and posed sexily as she spoke.**

 **Naruko, who had been staring at Anko with an enraptured expression, shook her head and blurted out, "How the hell are your boobs that big?"**

Naruto's face hit Hinata red the _instant_ that question came up.

 **Anko cupped the aforementioned boobs. "Ah, these girls? Plenty of varied foods, milk and exercise." She said with a smirk.**

 **Naruko looked at her own cleavage. She had the second biggest breasts in her graduating class, second to Hinata's small D-cups. She was currently a mid-C cup. Ino was a large B-cup.**

The girls covered their chests when the boys (minus Naruto who was a semi-target, and Kiba who was still out cold from blood loss) stared at their chests. Sakura doubly so due to her late bloomer flatness.

 **"Well, I suppose I could eat other things…" Naruko mused aloud, causing Ino to gape at her.**

 **"You'll listen to what she says but not me?!" Ino squeaked in fury.**

 **Naruko shrugged. "She has bigger boobs than you, so I think she knows what she's talking about." she replied.**

 **"And...it doesn't bother you that she's naked?" Ino pressed for clarification.**

 **Naruko just looked at her for a moment. "One, She's right; we're all girls here, Two, It's her body, she can do with it as she pleases and Three, we are kunoichi. Using our bodies as weapons is part and parcel of what we do, a prime example being seduction missions." the Uzumaki Heiress said slowly, as if she were lecturing a child.**

 **" _Exactly_!" Anko said approvingly, "Now that at least one of you has learned your lesson, I'll go and get dressed."**

 **With that, the Tokujō turned and walked back towards her room, her swaying hips catching Naruko's attention and making her blush again.**

Naruto looked at Yuki with a confused tilt to his head again; seems like that's one of the boy's tells.

"In this story, Naruko is bisexual with a preference for girls."

 **Ino meanwhile, was irritated. "You mean she did that deliberately?!" she said in disbelief.**

 **"Uh…Yes, I do believe she implied as much a moment ago." Naruko said with a shake of her head.**

 **"WHY?" Ino sounded incredulous.**

 **"I think she was making a point, Ino-chan." Naruko said thoughtfully, "I mean, did you see her body? Curves in all the right places and nicely muscled to boot. All that from eating a normal amount of various different foods in addition to regular ninja work."**

 **Ino looked sceptical, making Naruko sigh. "Look, Ino-chan. Who is the more experienced kunoichi, you or Anko-sensei?"**

 **"Anko-sensei of course, but what has that to do with anything?" Ino asked.**

 **"Everything, Ino-chan." Naruko said, "I never listened to you or Sakura-chan about Ramen, because I didn't think you knew what you were talking about. You and her are my age, inexperienced and barely ate anything because of your 'diet'. Anko-sensei, on the other hand, is a mature, experienced kunoichi who eats normal portions of food. Well, she does eat a lot of Dango, but that must be her Ramen."**

 **"O…kay. So?" Ino said bewildered.**

Yuki was just as bewildered "How is your other _that_ dense?"

 **"It boils down to this: ask any experienced kunoichi you like whether or not they have ever needed to diet since becoming kunoichi. I bet you a hundred ryo that every single one will say no." Naruko replied, "Personally, if it means getting a body like Anko-sensei's, I'm happy to eat different foods. You need to ask yourself a question, Ino-chan: are you a kunoichi or just playing ninja?"**

 **With that question, Naruko grabbed her chopsticks, cup Ramen, and walked out the door, leaving a confused and irritated Ino behind her.**

Yuki sighed in exasperation " _Seriously_? What's not to get? Dieting is bad. Hell stabbing yourself with a kunai is healthier for ninjas than dieting. _How_ is that so hard to understand?" This cowed Ino and Sakura "Seriously... it's like being a fangirl saps all of your brain cells to the point you'd think they'd be at the bottom of the class... or moved to a special ED class... complete with helmet and padded walls..."

Ok, now said girls were starting to get more ticked off with each line Yuki rambled.

* * *

 **3 Hours Later**

 **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower**

 **Yūhi Kurenai was very smug. Her team, thanks in part to Naruko's Shadow Clones, had completed more than twice the number of D-Rank missions than the rest of the new teams had.**

Momentarily forgetting her anger; Ino, alongside Naruto and Hinata, beamed at the praise.

 **The missions had always been boring chores for the most part. Weeding gardens, mending fences, delivering packages, finding lost pets, helping people move house, walking dogs and buying groceries were just some of the missions D-Ranks included.**

Those genin that hadn't gone on missions yet began to sink in their seats in depression.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Well it looks like Kiba's awake now.

 **Out of the last week, only two missions stood out in Kurenai's mind. The first was the time they had gone to the Inuzuka's to walk their dogs. Kiba had been the one to greet them at the door and had shouted to his mother that 'Five bitches were at the door.'**

Now it was Kiba's turn to look confused as the girls around him glared at him.

 **Tsume had arrived at the door to see Kiba wrapped in snakes by an irate Snake Mistress. After Anko had reluctantly released the boy, Tsume explained that -this time- Kiba had merely been using Inuzuka terminology. The Inuzuka were very close to their Ninken partners, to the point that some of their pack-behaviour and mannerisms rubbed off on them, meaning that when Kiba called them bitches, he meant females, rather than using the word as an insult.**

A look of understanding crossed the faces of those that had been glaring at Kiba; however none of them looked apologetic in the least.

 **Things had gone more smoothly after that, but Kiba had made a point to stay as far away from Anko as was possible when they returned the dogs to the Inuzuka Compound.**

 **The second had been more problematic. They had accepted a mission to clear a field of cleared forest of tree stumps. Unfortunately, when they had arrived, the man who had sent in the mission request had refused to let the 'Snake Whore' or 'The Demon Bitch' into his field and had tried to hit Naruko.**

Now everyone was glaring at the book. Wow, despite her shy personality, Hinata has quite the death glare.

 **After the man had been sent to the hospital after being beaten unconscious by Ino and Hinata,**

Both girls nodded in approval.

 **the Hokage had merely fined them a D-Rank missions pay. The man, once he was out of the hospital, had been blacklisted from putting forth mission requests…ever, for attempting to attack a Konoha Shinobi.**

 **The mission they had just completed, the infamous 'Catching Tora' mission, was one for the books. Hinata had just called out to Tora, and the cat had zoomed into her arms. Evidently, Hinata was good with animals. This had put Team 8 at the top of the Tora Retrieval Leaderboard with the fastest time ever, barely half an hour.**

Tenten was currently bowing to Hinata and begging her to teach the weapon user her ways.

 **As the client, Madame Shijimi, the wife of the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, left, Tora being squashed to death in her vice-like grip, Team 8 felt rather sorry for the poor thing.**

 **"Very well done, Team 8." Sarutobi told them, "That mission is usually the bane of the genin. Tora escapes far too frequently, so it's sort of a rite of passage to do the mission at least once-"**

 **"TORA-CHWAN, NOOOOO! GET BACK HERE!" was heard from the corridor.**

 **"-I don't suppose you'd be willing to grab Tora again?" Sarutobi changed what he had been about to say, with a slight amount of hope in his voice.**

 **"Regrettably Hokage-sama, we have a training session this afternoon, so I'm afraid we must decline." Kurenai said smoothly, "Might I suggest Team 7?"**

 **Behind her, Team 8 giggled at the thought of Team 7 being scratched to pieces by the cat, as she usually did to genin attempting to catch her.**

 **Sarutobi eyed Kurenai with suspicion. "You really want to embarrass them _that_ much?"**

 **"They need a wakeup call." Kurenai replied, "I've seen their so called 'training sessions', and it is pathetic. Hatake doesn't teach them anything, he just makes them spar all the time, with some teambuilding exercises thrown in here and there."**

 **Sarutobi sighed. Just as he had suspected. "Very well. I shall also have a word with Kakashi." he said with a resigned look on his face.**

 **Kurenai nodded. Kakashi was about to get one hell of a wake-up call.**

Those that were on Kakashi's actual team outside of the book felt the sudden urge to exact _pain_ on the lazy bastard.

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

 **Training Ground 8**

 **"Waaaaagggh!" Ino yelped as she landed on her back yet again. She had been thrown there by Naruko and this made the sixth time in a row that Naruko had sent her flying, which was a complete reversal from how it had been in the Academy.**

This got the attention of quite a few of the genin. Naruto's, or rather Naruko's, new style was that strong?

 ** _'It's not fair! Her Ushio-ken is far more advanced than the Hakage style that I use!'_ Ino thought pathetically as she got up once again. Thankfully, before Naruko could bruise her any further, Anko stopped the sparring session.**

 **"Alright brats, that's enough warming up!" the Snake Mistress called gleefully from where she stood. Naruko immediately dropped from the ready stance of _Ushio-ken_ and grinned mischievously at Ino, who stuck her tongue out in return.**

 **Hinata had been sparring against Kurenai and had been doing a credible job of it when the three genin lined up and waited for their teachers to address them.**

 **"Right then." Kurenai said looking at each of her genin in turn, "Over the last week, Anko and I have been observing your various skills and come to some conclusions.**

 **Naruko, you have, I am sorry to say, abysmal chakra control due to your Clan's heritage.**

"Really?" Naruto looked curiously; he had thought it was just because of the Kyuubi.

Yuki nodded "Most D ranks and like 90% of Genjutsu are forever beyond the Uzumaki. Add on to the fact your parents had immense reserves and your fuzzy problem adding onto it, I'd hazard to guess you'll have more chakra than the Kyuubi by the time you're in your late teens." Better leave out the face he'll be getting that way via Senjutsu and Asura's Sun Sage Mark.

 **I am going to start you on the Tree-Climbing Exercise, followed by Water-Walking. Your Taijutsu is growing steadily better with every passing day, although I think it needs some work with someone of more equal skill to fully work out the kinks."**

 **Naruko nodded.**

 **Kurenai turned to the other blond in the Training Ground. "Ino, you have excellent Chakra control, although that is mostly due to you having such small reserves. You will also be starting on the Tree-Climbing Exercise."**

 **"But why?" Ino asked, "Doesn't the Tree-Climbing Exercise just improve your control?"**

Yuki let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled about idiot fangirls and retarded teachers.

 **"It also builds up your chakra reserves, Ino." Kurenai explained, "Exactly the same as exhausting your available reserves does, except more reliably and at a slower, steadier pace."**

 **Kurenai frown slightly as she spoke the next part, "Your taijutsu is…substandard. While it is adequate for sparring purposes against other users of the _Hakage_ style, against someone trying to kill you it is insufficient. I will be attempting to find you a style that might be a better fit for you than _Hakage_ , but keep practicing it until I do, ok?"**

 **Ino nodded sadly. She hated being bad at something. Naruko reached over and put a comforting hand on Ino's shoulder.**

 **"I'll look through the Uzu Archive and see if there's one that'll fit you to the bone Ino-chan." she said with a smile.**

That shocked Ino just as much as it did her other in the story.

 **Ino was floored by this offer. The Uzu Archive was what Naruko had taken to calling the scrolls left to her by her mother, so Ino recognized that Naruko had just offered her a piece of her Clan's legacy, her birth right.**

 **"Naruko…I couldn't…" Ino protested weakly.**

 **"Look at it from my point of view Ino-chan." Naruko said seriously, "I am the last of my clan and I am the next best thing to sterile thanks to the Uchiha who attacked me when I was seven.**

That got a lot of anger aimed at that sentence, whilst Sasuke couldn't make any more excuses towards his clansmen in his head anymore and was appalled at some of the things that he had seen, but repressed because they didn't fit with his clan's perfect image in his mind. And his desire for revenge had taken a hit from a different angle.

 **When I die, I want the legacy of the Uzumaki to live on, not be buried in some dusty storeroom. The best way I can accomplish that is by ensuring that my will give the contents to those who will use them and by helping my friends with their ninja skills."**

 **The rest of Team 8 had been listening to her as she spoke. Anko and Kurenai looked concerned at Naruko's tale.**

 **"What do you mean by 'next best thing to sterile'?" Kurenai asked gently.**

 **"I was stabbed in the womb with a hollow, poison-loaded, tantō." Naruko replied softly, her hand automatically pressing against where the blade had pierced her body, "The med-nin were able to stop the spread of the poison, but -through either malicious intent or idiotic mistake- the poison is still in my womb. I was told that any foetus would die within the first month."**

And now the sadness and overall heaviness of depression joined the burning anger.

 **"Isn't there anything that can be done?" asked Ino, tears running down her cheeks at such a thing befalling her friend.**

Ino was crying just as hard.

 **"My cousin, Tsunade of the Sannin, could purge the poison safely. Anyone else would risk sterilizing me for good." Naruko replied sadly, "And the chance that cousin Tsunade will ever return to Konoha is slim to none."**

That caused everyone to freeze.

"Wait..." Sakura started off slowly "You mean Tsunade Senju, one of the three _strongest_ ninjas Konoha has, is related to Naruto?"

Yuki nodded to Sakura verbal question and Naruto's unasked one. "Yup, Tsunade's grandmother was born Mito Uzumaki who is Naruto's great grand aunt, give or take a few greats. Tsunade isn't in Konoha because she lost her boyfriend and brother, both of whom died in her arms with her unable to save them, causing her to leave Konoha in a deep depression. Word is she travels around the world drinking her memories away and gambling, the latter of which she sucks at. Which is ironic because those same places Naruto could bankrupt without even knowing how to play the games."

Yuki then chuckled, getting everyone's attention away from their thoughts "Speaking of Naruto's luck, he accidentally made an S-ranked version of the transformation technique when he was learning it. That jutsu that he uses to turn into a naked woman? He actually becomes a female inside and out in that form. It was proven in one world where he was locked in that form and became the first male to experience what it's like to have the female period."

He then laughed out loud at the mix of blushing or green faces that followed.

 **There was silence in the field, broken only by Ino's sniffling until Kurenai cleared her throat and turned to Hinata.**

 **"Hinata, like Ino you have good chakra control, but small reserves. Tree Climbing for you as well. I cannot help you with your Taijutsu unfortunately, but I will say that it does not seem to suit you." she said without rancor.**

 **"Hai." Hinata said softly, her concerned lavender eyes focused on Naruko even as she replied to Kurenai.**

 **"OK Gaki's, my turn." Anko said with a wicked smile, "Take one of these papers each." She held out three pieces of square white paper to the three genin, who took a piece each.**

 **"Alright, now channel some chakra -as small an amount as you can- into the paper." Anko directed as she withdrew another piece from her equipment pouch and held it up. "It will do one of five things: burn, crumble, get wet, get cut or crumple. This will tell us if any of you have an Elemental Affinity."**

 **Hinata's eyes widened. "Ano…B-But that's at least chunin-level t-training." she pointed out quietly.**

 **"If we were actually working on _mastering_ which element you get, I'd agree." Anko said with a grin, "This is just so we know which elements are easiest for you three to learn."**

Yuki saw there questioning eyes and answered before they could ask. "That's added onto the list of things you'll get at the end of the story. Quite a few of you guys vary in your affinities across the different dimensions. Naruto, for example, is almost always a wind element, either by itself or with a secondary element tacked on. Sasuke on the other hand usually has a lightning primary and a strong fire secondary.

There is, however differences. For example Sakura either doesn't have a strong enough affinity to show up in those kinds of tests, or has a lightning, water, or earth affinity. However most of the dimensions I've seen have Hinata as a water affinity and the Hyūga clan usually having an earth affinity, giving a reason why she has trouble with Juken as it is. However that is not always the case, as sometimes the Hyūga have a fire primary and a lightning secondary that they use with their Juken and merely spread rumors of it being earth style to protect themselves from water users."

 **Naruko cheered up at this and channeled some chakra into the paper. It immediately split in half and both sides got very wet.**

Yuki raised an eyebrow at the group in front of him; the _'see?'_ was very much implied from that expression.

 **"Wow." Anko said with a raised eyebrow, "A strong Wind affinity AND a strong Water affinity. Unusual for a fresh genin."**

 **"It's another Uzumaki trait." Naruko replied, "Our chakra is so dense and powerful that we often have multiple affinities and our affinities manifest at a young age. I would have tested my affinities myself, but there wasn't any of this paper in the Archive."**

 **"So why'd you choose water and wind to learn the day before your genin test?" Kurenai asked curiously.**

 **"Quite a few of the jutsu in the archive are Suiton and Fūton ninjutsu." Naruko replied, "Uzu is an island, so a lot of the jutsu used and developed there focused on using and reinforcing the natural defenses of the Isle of Uzu to its defender's advantage."**

 **"Makes sense." Kurenai said with a nod, "After Fūton and Suiton, what is the most common jutsu in the Archive?"**

 **"Doton, followed by Katon. Almost no Raiton other than the more widely available ones." Naruko said automatically.**

 **"There has to be hundreds of jutsu in the Archive, so how could you say that as if it was rote-learned?" Anko asked, curiously.**

 **"Shadow Clones." Naruko replied simply, making Anko facepalm at not seeing the obvious answer.**

Naruto snickered at that, Shadow Clones for the win!

 **"Ino, your turn." Kurenai said. Ino channelled chakra into the paper and it got soaked, with a small corner burning slightly.**

 **"A strong Water affinity AND a weak Fire affinity?" Anko gaped, "One person almost never has opposing elemental affinities, unless they have a Kekkei Genkai!"**

 **"Well, it can't be a Kekkei Genkai, because then the affinities would be of exactly equal strength." Kurenai pointed out, "Even Naruko's strong Water affinity was slightly weaker than her Wind affinity, so I doubt that's it."**

 **"Drat. I was hoping it was a Kekkei Genkai." pouted Anko, prompting sweatdrops to emerge on the rest of Team 8 at her attitude.**

Team 8 wasn't the only one who sweat dropped, the group listening did too. Looking over at his sister's group... Yup... Kurenai was currently rubbing the bridge of her nose to stem her headache. Over in his brother's group, Ibiki was rubbing his temples to do the same.

 **"Hinata?" Kurenai said, delicately moving the conversation away from Anko for the moment.**

 **Hinata hesitated then channelled chakra into the paper. It very quickly became drenched by water, with a small cut going about a third of the way up the paper.**

 **"Another strong Water affinity, with a middling Wind affinity." Anko noted, "Huh, looks like Hokage-sama knew what he was doing."**

 **"What do you mean by that?" Ino asked pointedly.**

 **"Some people believe that elemental affinities can be used similar to personality match ups." Kurenai said disdainfully, "For example, in your case, people with Primary Wind affinities supposedly match up best with people with Primary Water affinities, and worst with those with Primary Fire affinities."**

 **"This explains why Sasuke-teme grates on my nerves like nails on a blackboard!" Naruko said with a grin, before she saw Hinata looking at the paper in horror.**

Yuki gave a snort, drawing everyone's attention. Yuki waved them off "Personally I think testing their elements should be done during the academy. Yes the training shouldn't be done until you at least reach Chunin, however testing for their elements would help their future teachers out when it comes to teaching them jutsu later on, and if that element personality test actually holds true, then it could be a good way to help put together teams that would work together better. Hell, maybe just even a personality test and a 'who in your class would you want to be teamed with and who would you not like to be teamed with' questionnaire would do wonders."

Apparently his brother said something similar if the Hokage's constant forehead strikes to his podium were anything to go by.

 **"Hinata-chan, what's wrong?" Naruko asked gently.**

 **"T-This e-explains why I-I can't use _J-Jūken_ very w-well." Hinata stuttered shakily, " _Jūken_ is an Earth-based T-Taijutsu style. I'm both W-Water and Wind, which a-are the exact o-opposite of E-Earth!"**

 **Anko and Kurenai's jaws dropped. "And your father never thought to check your affinity _before_ this?" the red-eyed jonin asked incredulously.**

 **"Almost all H-Hyūga have a Primary Earth affinity." Hinata replied, "It p-probably never occurred to him to check. Besides, Clan Tradition is that affinities are not t-to be tested for until a Hyūga achieves genin rank o-or turns sixteen."**

Yuki gave Neji a glare, both knew it was for his treatment of his cousin and his attitude in general.

 **" _Idiocy_!" Anko hissed in disgust. Naruko and Ino looked angry as well.**

 **"Hinata, tell your father of this discovery after training today. There may be some assistance he can offer you." Kurenai directed her surrogate daughter, who nodded nervously.**

 **"Alright then." Anko jumped in eagerly, "Now, Naruko, you already know two jutsu, one for each element. Demonstrate them please."**

 **Naruko shrugged and made a Shadow Clone who ran opposite her and _Henge'd_ into a chunin with silver hair and a permanent sneer on his face.**

 **"Mizuki!" Ino muttered with a glare.**

Naruto's own glare hardened at seeing the bastard. Nobody could blame him after all.

 **Naruko formed the Tiger Handsign and, a few second later, said, " _Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu_!" before launching five water bullets at the Mizuki-clone, dispelling it.**

 **"Ah, the _Teppōdama_." Anko nodded, "A C-Rank Jutsu. Requires only one handsign to use and doesn't require the use of a large body of water in order to use it either. Basic, but useful, as last week proved."**

 **Kurenai pursed her lips in thought. "I think that they need to build up their chakra reserves a bit before they use that one." she said after a moment.**

 **Anko motioned to Naruko, who made another Mizuki-clone. She then focused for a moment before clapping her hands and saying, " _Futon: Reppūshō_!", causing a gale of wind to blast past her and strike the clone, sending it flying, but not dispelling it.**

 **" _Reppūshō_. Another C-Rank Jutsu." Anko said, "Again, only requires on handsign -of a sort- to use. Not really all that powerful, but it is useful in speeding up thrown weaponry, as Naruko did last week."**

 **"Again, the other two need to build up their chakra reserves before they can use this jutsu." Kurenai said firmly.**

 **"Okay then, now I'll demonstrate a jutsu then." Anko said. The Mizuki-clone stood up again to act as a target. The Snake Mistress then flipped through six handsigns, then said, " _Katon: Endan_! (Fire Style: Flame Bomb!)"**

 **A small fireball was launched from her mouth that incinerated the clone in moments.**

 **"The _Endan_ is another C-Rank Jutsu. While it does use quite a few more handsigns than _Reppūshō_ and _Teppōdama_ , it can also be used in multiple ways. The first is, as you saw a basic fireball. The second is a series of smaller fireballs. The last type is a continuous stream of flames."**

 **"Again, no." Kurenai said firmly. Anko narrowed her eyes at her friend.**

 **"Nai-chan…" Anko said slowly, "You wouldn't happen to be wanting to limit their initial lessons to your personal favorite art, would you?"**

 **Kurenai flushed at being read so easily. Naruko frowned.**

 **"Kurenai-sensei, I can't use genjutsu because of my…'medical condition', remember?" she pointed out.**

The others were pretty sure she was talking about the Kyuubi and not her Uzumaki heritage.

 **"I know, but you _can_ dispel genjutsu. You dispelled _two_ of my genjutsu _simultaneously_ last week." Kurenai pointed out.**

 **"Only up to C-Rank." Naruko replied, "Anything higher is impossible for me. My limits are _very_ well defined when it comes to genjutsu, Kurenai-sensei."**

 **Kurenai sighed in defeat. "Very well. We will leave genjutsu for now, but we _will_ discuss this in the future. I _refuse_ to believe that you cannot use genjutsu if you can dispel it."**

 **The Jinchūriki nodded reluctantly, although her eyes showed that she didn't believe that she could use genjutsu at all, regardless of Kurenai's assertions to the contrary.**

Yuki got Naruto's attention "I think the only Genjutsu that you can use properly is most likely the Second Hokage's ' _Bringer of Infinite Darkness_ ' Genjutsu. Due to it being one of the only Genjutsu that has a high cost on top of a constant drain. The only other thing I can think of is more of a gag point in some worlds." He looked at the others as he got their attention "In other worlds, there have been a few Narutos that have made a genjutsu that creates a lantern for the user to hold. What makes it a gag is the lantern give off real light, or what is perceived as real light, which goes against everything Genjutsu users know to be possible and would probably cause Kurenai to go into a seizure if she tried to figure out how it worked."

Sakura crossed her arms and looked disbelieving. "And you do?"

Yuki nodded and smiled "But of course! While I don't know how exactly Naruto pulled it off, but it's an example of the hardest types of Genjutsu to exist. What I like to call projected hypnosis."

Having everyone's attention, Yuki continued "Projected Hypnosis is far stronger than what you would think regular Hypnosis to be. The normal one would fool the senses and get people to behave differently. However... hmmm... an example is in order. Let's say you wanted to hide a passageway, like a door frame without a door kinda thing. Hypnosis would make a person think that there was a stone wall and no door there and they wouldn't check. _Projected Hypnosis_ on the other hand would make them think it's a stone wall to the point that if they were to touch the open air, they would feel the stone wall and their body would register that and not let them past, even if they saw someone walk through said 'wall'."

This got awed looks from those that got what it meant. "Another example is an illusionary blade couldn't hurt you. However under Projected Hypnosis, your body would believe the wound was real and recreate the injury. Making it far more deadly. In fact, the Kurama clan genjutsu uses this phenomenon naturally as part of their bloodline."

 **The rest of the training session focused on teaching Ino and Hinata the _Teppōdama_. Ino struggled with it slightly, but managed a single small water bullet by the end of the training session. Hinata, with her excellent chakra control due to her _Jūken_ training, achieved a similar result slightly before Ino. Both girls were exhausted by the end of the session.**

 **Naruko, meanwhile, had been running through her katas until she was satisfied that she did indeed have the basic _Ushio-ken_ kata committed to muscle memory.**

 **When Kurenai called the session to a halt, Naruko made a pair of Shadow Clones to carry a bleary Ino and Hinata back to the Uzumaki Compound.**

 **"Hey Gaki!" Anko called as the clones gently picked up the other two genin and trotted off, "Whatcha doing now?"**

 **"I have remedial Taijutsu training with Gai-sensei and remedial calligraphy with Iruka-sensei." Naruko replied as she made a small army of clones and sent them off to the academy.**

 **"So, your clones do calligraphy and you do Taijutsu?" Anko smirked, "You really are uniquely suited for that jutsu, aren't you?"**

 **Naruko blushed at the compliment, and then looked around. Kurenai had followed Ino and Hinata home and there were no clones around.**

While Naruto blushed at the compliment, he was curious as to what his female other wanted to talk to Anko about.

 **"Umm…Anko-sensei…I need your help as well." Naruko said, blushing a bit.**

 **"Eh? What with?" Anko asked curiously.**

 **"At the Academy, I skipped a few of the more…boring…kunoichi-only classes." Naruko said frankly, "You know, Ikebana, local clothing and dialects, that kind of thing."**

 **"Not a surprise." The Snake Mistress snorted, "Half of that stuff is never used, with the rest being a load of crap until you have time to blend into the area."**

Sakura and Ino were actually surprised. Why was it taught then if nobody ever uses it?

Yuki could see the question forming "It's because the academy is controlled by the Civilian council and has things that they think are important, but aren't. Hell most of the stuff you need to learn was removed entirely just because the civvies thought that it made you into 'killers' despite the fact that being a killer is in the Ninja job description. They also do it so more civilian ninjas graduate, ignoring the fact that about 90% of those civilians don't pass their Jonin's tests unless they actually have real skill."

Looks like that is going to change if the Hokage's and Ninja Council's expressions are anything to go by.

 **"Yeah…" Naruko said, her blush intensifying, "The thing is, the instructors barred me from the more...serious…classes."**

 **"Such as?" Anko asked, very quietly as her eyes focussed on Naruko.**

 **"Ummm…Shibari, Seduction, Sex Education, Basic Field Interrogation, Body Language Reading, how to dress to distract…" Naruko listed, wincing as the fury mounted in Anko's eyes.**

The other girls had just as much fury and even the civilian Sakura looked like she wanted to strangle the civilians in charge.

 **"So basically, you've been trained as a ninja rather than a kunoichi." Anko said angrily. She just could not believe that the instructors at the Academy had been able to get away with so _much_ sabotage on a student's career - _any_ student- without being spotted!**

"Again, it's because the civilian council is in control and they doctor up any documents that may make it to the Hokage in order to hide it." The amount of rage doubled.

 **"That sums things up well, yes." Naruko replied.**

 **"And why ask me?" Anko asked.**

 **"Kurenai-sensei, judging from her behavior this week, is a prude and would refuse." Naruko said flatly, "And I don't know any other seasoned kunoichi. Besides…you know how to flaunt your body well. I see all the guys, and more than a few girls, follow you with their eyes when we walk around on our missions, so I guess that you could say you're the best woman for the job."**

 **The Snake Mistress of Konoha's mind was in a whirl. The girl was asking her because she considered her the best for the job? Not because she was considered the biggest slut in Konoha, just because of her former sensei?**

 ** _'Then again, the kid doesn't know about that bastard Orochimaru now does she?'_ Anko thought.**

Everyone looked at Yuki in curiosity, trying to hold back their rage that came earlier.

Yuki sighed "Orochimaru was one of the three Sannin. However he became obsessed with learning every jutsu in existence as well as immortality, to the point that he began experimenting on villagers, ranging from adults to newborns." He noted the looks of disgust on their faces and continued "Anko was his apprentice back when he was a normal ninja and followed him when he became a missing-nin because she didn't know about his betrayal. Eventually she was given what is called a Cursed Seal, a sick mark that slowly seals away a person's power so that they feel like they get stronger when they use said seal, which momentarily returns them back to full power. In exchange, it degrades their sanity and willpower when used. During your first Chunin exam, Sasuke gets one, and due to his weak will and thirst for power, he defects. Again, the only reason Sasuke wasn't marked as a missing-nin is due to the civvies. Oh, and Orochimaru is after Sasuke so he can take over his body and gain the Sharingan, making him come off as being a gay pedophile."

There was a small bit of enjoyment at seeing their disgusted faces at hearing all that, and the combination of a paling skin tone and the green that spread across Sasuke's face was doubly enjoyable.

 **"Okay." Anko said with a shrug, "I'll give you a hand. But Nai-chan and your friends can't know about it, otherwise Nai-chan'll accuse me of taking advantage of you."**

 **Naruko sighed. "Tell Ji-chan and ask him to make it a mission. Then, when Kurenai-sensei eventually finds out, you can wave it at her and tell her to take it up with him."**

 **Anko grinned. "Sneaky, aren't you gaki? I'll go see the old man now. If he says yes, our first lesson will be in two days' time, when both the Hyūga and the Yamanaka are at clan affairs."**

 **"Hai, Anko-sensei!" Naruko said with a small salute before she ran off, leaving Anko feeling confused.**

 **She wasn't used to being respected, after all.**

* * *

 **15 Minutes Later.**

 **Training Ground 9**

 **When Naruko reached the training ground she had been told to go to for her lessons, she found it occupied by two other ninja.**

 **One was a Hyūga. He had long brown hair as seemed to be the fashion for male Hyūga and it was tied in a loose ponytail. He wore his hitai-ate on his forehead, telling Naruko that he was a member of the Branch House. He wore a khaki shirt, bandages wrapped around his right arm and leg and brown shorts. He had the normal 'Hyūga Face' as the rest of Konoha called it: arrogant, cold and utterly indifferent.**

Neji blushed lightly at all of the sudden attention he was receiving and made his apparent irritation known "What?"

 **The other person was a kunoichi. She had light brown hair done up in a pair of buns and warm brown eyes. She wore a pink sleeveless blouse with red hems and green trousers. She looked much more approachable than the Hyūga.**

Now it was Tenten's turn to blush at the attention she was getting. She never had the focus of so many on her outside of a fight after all.

 **They were sparring when Naruko turned up. Seemingly on instinct, the girl drew and hurled a kunai at Naruko in less time than it took to blink. Naruko quickly dodged to one side and grabbed the kunai out of the air as it passed before glaring at the girl irately.**

 **"OI! Watch yourself will you!" she yelled at the startled girl, "That almost hit me!"**

Tenten shivered slightly as Naruto levelled a glare at her for her other's actions "I-It was probably just an ingrained reaction..." She let out a sigh of relief when the blonde turned his attention back to the story.

Lovable Dead Last or not, that glare of his was scary.

 **"Sorry." the girl apologized, "My other teammate is around here somewhere and I thought you were him."**

 **"Would your teammate be approaching you at a _walk_ in the middle of a _spar_?" Naruko asked pointedly, making the girl blush at her rebuke.**

 **"This is our training field. Who are you and why are you here?" the Hyūga demanded.**

 **"When last I checked, it was polite to introduce oneself before asking the name of another." Naruko retorted, making the Hyūga scowl.**

 **"Very well. I am Hyūga Neji and this is Higurashi Tenten. Now answer my questions."**

 **"I am Uzumaki Naruko, Clan Heiress of the Uzumaki Clan and I am here to meet with Maito Gai for extra taijutsu lessons at his request." Naruko replied formally.**

 **"At his request? Why?" Neji asked curiously.**

 **Naruko shrugged. "My taijutsu sensei back in the Academy was Toji Mizuki." she replied.**

 **"The silver haired guy?" asked Tenten with a frown, "I heard he's in jail right now, though not what for."**

 **"Attempting to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, Assault on a fellow Konoha Shinobi and breaking an S-Rank law." Naruko replied.**

Those that knew of Mizuki, but not of what happened to him in their timeline winced at hearing those charges.

 **"How do you know that?" Neji asked, suspicious.**

 **"The Hokage announced it to my entire graduating class last week." Naruko replied, deciding they didn't need to know _she_ had actually been the one to steal the stupid scroll, "Ask Hinata-chan if you want confirmation."**

 **One of Neji's eyebrows twitched. "My cousin?" he said blandly.**

 **Naruko cocked her head to one side. "Hinata-chan is your cousin? You two look nothing alike. Not even your _Byakugan_ look similar." Naruko said bluntly.**

Naruto nodded along. "Yeah, I mean Hinata's eyes look lavender in color while Neji's are more cream colored... come to think of it, none of the other Hyūga's have the same color as Hinata's..."

Hinata spoke up, blushing at the attention she was receiving and sinking into her collar "I-I received the s-same colored eyes f-from my m-mother..."

 **Neji's eyebrow twitched again. "So I have been told before." he said blandly, "I shall ask Hinata-sama when next I see her. What does Mizuki's imprisonment have to do with your extra lessons?"**

 **"Hm? Oh, he sabotaged my taijutsu. Left me full of weak stances and openings." Naruko replied, "Gai-sensei helped my team out when two jonin and a chunin tried to attack us last week and offered his assistance to remedy that."**

 **"Why'd they attack you?" asked Tenten curiously.**

 **"S-Rank secret." Naruko replied, "But I hear one of the attackers was a Main Family Hyūga."**

 **Neji frowned. "Hyūga Arashi has not been seen around the compound since last week."**

 **The Uzumaki Heiress nodded. "Gai-sensei was the one who beat him. According to Anko-sensei, the man's stomach was covered in huge bruises and had almost his entire ribcage smashed."**

Both Neji and Tenten deadpanned at hearing that. That was so Gai-sensei's work.

 **The two other genin said in unison, "That's Gai-sensei's work."**

 **"So…where _is_ Gai-sensei?" Naruko asked.**

 **"He lost a bet with his 'Eternal Rival' Hatake Kakashi and has to run 500 times around Konoha…on one leg." Tenten replied, her face completely deadpan.**

Jaws dropped at hearing that, Naruto turned to Tenten "Does Kakashi-sensei choose those punishments or does Gai-sensei choose them himself?"

Nobody had an answer to that.

 **Naruko's jaw dropped. "What…the… _hell_?!"**

 **"Welcome to our world." Neji muttered.**

"What he said..." muttered Tenten.

 **Tenten spotted the sword on Naruko's back. "Nice sword. Do you know how to use it?"**

 **"Not yet. I have it on me because it's the symbol of rank for the Heir of the Uzumaki Clan." Naruko explained, "Besides, once the sword is sealed to me, anyone who tries to wield it other than me gets a massive electric shock to the chakra system through the _tenketsu_ in the hands."**

 **"That would cause irreparable damage!" Neji exclaimed in shock.**

Yuki looked over at Neji "Didn't we already go over this?"

Neji had the decency to blush and turn his head away.

 **"I think that's kinda the point." Naruko remarked dryly, "Benihime is a lady of sophisticated tastes."**

 **Tenten froze. "Did…did you say 'Benihime'?" she asked hesitantly, "As in the sword of The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero?"**

 **""My mum? Yep." Naruko replied.**

 **"Your… _mum_?!" Tenten exclaimed, hyperventilating slightly, "Are you saying you're her daughter?!"**

The fact that Naruto's mom was the strongest Swordswoman of the Leaf and his cousin is Tsunade caused Tenten's eyes to roll into the back of her head as she passed out and crumpled to the floor. Lee managed to catch her and help her to an empty spot on the couch while Neji did nothing.

 **Naruko blinked. "Uh…That _is_ what I just said. The real name of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero was Uzumaki Kushina, an S-Rank Jonin who died fighting against the Kyūbi."**

 **The bun-haired girl looked like she was about to faint. Naruko looked to Neji for an explanation.**

 **"Tenten is quite adamant that kunoichi can be just as good at being shinobi as ninja." Neji explained shortly, "She aspires to be as great a kunoichi as Tsunade of the Sannin, but she also admires other powerful kunoichi such as…your mother."**

 **Naruko raised an eyebrow. "Wow. She admires my mum _and_ my cousin."**

 **Tenten snapped out of her daze when she heard that. "Wait…your cousin? Who is she?"**

 **"Tsunade of the Sannin." Naruko said as if she just said an apple was red.**

 **Tenten's eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted, Naruko catching her before she hit the ground. Neji hadn't bothered moving, earning him a sour look from Naruko.**

 **It took a few moments to revive Tenten, but once she did come around, she grasped on to Naruko's arm and stared her in the eyes.**

 **"You're really related to Tsunade-sama?" she asked in an intense tone that spooked Naruko.**

 **"Y-Yeah…My Great-Great Aunt Mito married Senju Hashirama, and my clan was already distantly related to the Senju anyway, so I'm related to her by both blood and marriage. I've never met her though." Naruko said nervously.**

 **The older girl slumped slightly and let go of Naruko, who felt a bit sorry for her. "If I ever meet her though, I'll get her autograph for you, OK?"**

Tenten woke up and had teleported onto her knees in front of Yuki, with pleading puppy dog eyes that Yuki could only resist for a few seconds.

"Alright! Alright! I'll add in Tsunade's autograph to the list of things you're getting!"

 **This earned Naruko a smile and a nod of thanks.**

 **"I can't say I've heard of an Uzumaki Clan." Neji said abruptly.**

 **"It wasn't covered in your Academy classes?" Naruko asked with a frown. Seeing both genin shake their heads only made the frown become deeper.**

Naruto's Uzumaki temper was starting to pick up, if the red threatening to take over the blues of his eyes, the clenched fists and the smoke rising off his head was anything to go off of.

 **"Right, so this _proves_ that someone has been trying to erase the history of my clan." Naruko said, anger evident in her voice, "The Sandaime Hokage told me _himself_ that he put the history of the Uzumaki Clan and Uzushiogakure into the curriculum himself after Iwa, Kiri and Kumo almost wiped us out!"**

 **"Why would anyone do that?" asked Tenten.**

 **"I…can't say. S-Rank secret." Naruko said absently.**

 **Just then, a loud (not to mention familiar) shout shocked the three genin into watchfulness.**

 **"HOWL, MY YOUTH! LEE, LET US PROVE THAT OUR FLAMES SHALL NEVER BURN OUT!"**

 **"HAI, GAI-SENSEI! IF I CANNOT DO THAT, I SHALL CLIMB THE HOKAGE MOUNTAIN WITH MY TEETH ALONE!"**

Those with sensitive hearing clenched their ears at the loud shout while the others understood why Lee was silenced for the story.

 **The second voice was unfamiliar to Naruko, but it seemed to be known to the other two, judging by the deadpan looks on their faces.**

 **" _DOUBLE DYNAMIC ENTRY_!"**

" _UNLIMITED_ POWAH!"

That got everyone's attention, as they could not tell where the shout came from, but Yuki just waved them off "Don't worry about that, it happens sometimes."

 **Having seen what the original _Dynamic Entry_ could do, Naruko took no chances and immediately hit the ground, barely dodging the pair of green blurs that zoomed over her head. Tenten and Neji had dodged successfully as well, no doubt from experience.**

 **Naruko looked up to see a horrifying sight. Maito Gai stood proudly in his green spandex next to what looked like…a younger, identical clone of him. The same bowl cut hair, the same shaggy eyebrows, the same spandex leotard and the same orange legwarmers. The only difference between Gai and his clone was that the clone was barely a year older than Naruko was by her estimate.**

Ino fell over at the horrible slight against fashion and Yuki guessed she was ranting at it in her head by her foaming at the mouth impression.

 **"Neji! Tenten! I trust that you have not allowed your youthful flames to flicker and fade?!" Gai bellowed exuberantly, making Naruko wince slightly. In instances like this, having sensitive hearing _really_ sucked.**

 **"Gai-sensei, you have a visitor." Neji said, ignoring the question.**

 **Gai whirled around and caught sight of Naruko, making him simile.**

 **"Ah, Naruko-chan! It is good to see you here! I take it Neji and Tenten have given you their most youthful greetings?" he said loudly.**

 **"They introduced themselves, yes." Naruko replied with a wince at the volume the man was using, "Tenten-san seems to admirable reflexes; she threw a kunai at me when I entered the training field proper in the blink of an eye."**

Tenten blushed at the reminder. She was definitely going to work on her situational awareness after this was over.

 **Tenten blushed at the reminder, while Gai-sensei beamed with pride.**

 **"Ah, where are my manners? This is my other student, the ever youthful Rock Lee!" Gai proudly introduced his other student, who then posed in a variation of the infamous 'nice guy' pose.**

 **"Yosh! I am known as Konoha's Handsome Devil! I cannot use Nin- or Genjutsu due to a medical condition, but I still aspire to be a great ninja nonetheless!"**

 **"Uh…that's cool. I have a similar condition, only mine is just genjutsu." Naruko replied warily.**

Lee's eyes turned into puppy dog eyes of admiration as he looked at Naruto, which those that were actually looking at him thought was creepy.

 **Lee's eyes widened at this revelation. He couldn't believe it, someone who shared one of his difficulties! Incredible.**

 **"Indeed, she is full of the flames of youth my pupils!" Gai boomed, "Unfortunately, the most unyouthful Toji Mizuki sabotaged her taijutsu, which I find abhorrently unyouthful to the extreme. Therefore, I offered my services to aid her in bringing her burning flames to their peak, which she accepted!"**

 **"Gai-sensei!"**

 **"Lee!"**

 **"Gai-sensei!"**

 **"Lee!"**

 **"Gai-sensei!"**

 **"Lee!"**

 **"Gai-sensei!"**

 **"Lee!"**

Yuki grunted in pain, that had been hard to read.

 **"Turn away!" Tenten shouted at Naruko, who looked puzzled at her. Movement caught her eye, and she looked back around just in time to see the two spandex-clad men exchange a manly hug, with a backdrop of a setting sun on a beach, the waves crashing dramatically in the background.**

In computer terms, there was a mass system fail and numerous Genin had their brains shut down. The only ones that didn't were Team 9. Neji and Tenten had looked away, and Lee didn't see anything wrong with it.

Yuki pointed to the downed Genin "Lee. This is why that man hug you do with Gai is so bad. Not only that, I hear that they use a recording of it in the TI department as a torture technique!"

Tenten muttered to herself "That explains so much..."

Yuki waited until everyone recovered before continuing.

 **Naruko's brain shut down temporarily at the sight. Tenten and Neji had looked away just in time so they were fine, which allowed the bun-haired girl to drag Naruko away from the still hugging men and turned her around so her mind could recover.**

 **After a couple of seconds, Naruko rebooted her brain and massaged her temples. "What, in the name of the Rikudō Sennin, was _that_?!" she asked as one of her eyes twitched.**

 **"That was Gai and Lee's collaboration genjutsu that we call the ' _Warenai Yūhi no Jutsu_ (Unbreakable Sunset Jutsu)' because nothing can see through it or break it, not even my _Byakugan_." Neji said sourly, "Gai-sensei and Lee refer to it as the ' _Seishun no Yūhi no Jutsu_ (Sunset of Youth Jutsu)' however."**

 **"Figures." muttered Naruko, "How long do they do this for?"**

 **"Depends." Tenten replied, "If they feel particularly…youthful…up to half an hour. If not, about a quarter of an hour."**

 **Naruko stared at her for a second in disbelief before forming a handsign and said, " _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!", calling forth over five hundred clones.**

Jaws were hanging open again, while Hinata was blushing heavily and...was that a nosebleed? Huh... it really was the quiet ones you had to watch out for.

 **"What the-" Tenten gasped in shock.**

 **Neji activated his dōjutsu and scanned the small army before him. "Impossible…they're all _solid_ clones with their own chakra networks… _none_ of them are basic _Bunshin_." he said, disbelief etching itself across his face.**

 **"A most youthful effort." Gai said with a smile. He and Lee had stopped their 'Youthful Moment' when Naruko summoned her clones. "Is this the maximum amount you can create?"**

 **"I have fifty at the Academy getting remedial calligraphy lessons from Iruka-sensei, ten doing archival work at my Compound, with another hundred practicing the intermediate katas of my villages basic Taijutsu style, the _Ushio-ken_." Naruko said with a shrug, "Oh, and ten on guard duty at my Compound as well."**

 **"Six-hundred and seventy at the same time?!" Neji exclaimed.**

 **"But I really have no clue what my limit on the jutsu is. The first time I used the jutsu, I summoned over a thousand." Naruko finished.**

 **"A _thousand_!?" Poor Neji looked as if he was about to pass out from incredulity.**

Hinata grabbed hold of Naruto possessively and was glaring at the other girls in an uncharacteristic way "Mine."

Naruto was red faced and the other girls were blushing at what Hinata's timing and statement meant.

 **"Why have your clones work on kata though?" Tenten asked, "I mean, solid or not, they are just clones."**

 **"Shadow Clones are unique among the clone jutsu in that when they dispel, the original receives the memories from the clones." Naruko explained, "So even a single clone doubles the amount of training you can do. Well everything but physical training, but ninjutsu, genjutsu and chakra control? Hell yeah."**

Ok, now Hinata was practically straddling Naruto and was holding his head possessively in between her breasts while glaring at the other girls. Naruto's face, from what he could see, was the kind of purple associated with highly embarrassed suffocation.

 **"That is incredible." Neji breathed, "Why do more ninja not use this technique?"**

 **Gai replied for Naruko. "Because the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ requires jonin level chakra reserves to use. In addition, Naruko here is the only person I have ever heard of to create more than thirty clones without collapsing from chakra exhaustion or worse, Negative Chakra."**

 **"Negative Chakra?" Tenten looked confused.**

 **"If you try to force out more chakra than you have when you are already in a state of chakra exhaustion, you can draw chakra from your own life force by mistake, which causes immense, and almost always fatal, damage to your body." Gai explained seriously.**

 **"How is it that a rookie genin can use such a dangerous jutsu? It is, I assume, a Kinjutsu?" Neji asked pointedly.**

 **"I am an Uzumaki." Naruko said, "More than that, I am of the Main Family of the Clan. While all Uzumaki have immense chakra reserves, those of the Main Family also have exceptionally _dense_ chakra as well."**

Ok, now Naruto isn't moving and Hinata started to panic. Yuki was reminded of a Naruto that liked to come up with different ways to make Hinata faint. That version of Naruto mistook her passed out form for something else and she awoke just as he was about to perform CPR, causing her to pass out again. Yuki got a separate bedroom ready just in case they started to make out or something.

 **"I see. Your chakra is powerful and dense, meaning you can use a considerable amount on Shadow Clones without risk of harm." Neji said as he gave Naruko a piercing look. "Yet I am still surprised you graduated. Your chakra control must be appalling."**

 **"I hate the _Bunshin no Jutsu_." Naruko said sourly, "It uses such an insignificant amount of chakra that I can't…what's the word… _compress_ , fits I think, compress my chakra to make a single ordinary clone or even three. The _fewest_ I can make is thirty."**

And there's Hinata's first kiss... technically... Ok, so he's breathing and she's not pulling away... Yuki teleported the two to the prepared bedroom before things got too heated for the remaining genin.

 **She pulled a face. "I mean, why bother learning such a _stupid_ jutsu anyway? Any ninja worth their hitai-ate can spot its lack of shadow, so an elemental clone would make far more sense to teach."**

 **"Hey boss! Why'd you summon us?" one of the nearby clones called out, breaking Naruko from her grumbling.**

 **"Oh. Sorry." Naruko said apologetically, "Alright ladies, form up and start running through the basic set of the _Ushio-ken_ for Gai-sensei to examine!"**

 **"Right, Boss!" they chorused and ran to obey.**

 **Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Are clones supposed to have that much free will?"**

Having gotten their blushes under control, the genin looked at Yuki who only pointed at the book.

 **"It depends on the chakra put into creating them, my youthful student." Gai replied, "Only with Shadow Clones though. Elemental Clones have a fixed maximum amount of chakra that can be place into each one before it becomes overloaded and dissolves."**

 **The next half hour passed by as Gai inspected every clone performing a kata and made minor corrections after comparing the kata to diagrams in the scroll Naruko gave him.**

 **"Naruko-chan, your clones show you have an excellent understanding of Ushio-ken." Gai-sensei told her with a broad grin, "Now, dispel your clones and absorb the knowledge of the minor corrections I gave them."**

 **"Ladies! Dispel in groups of three!" Naruko ordered her army.**

 **As the clones started disappearing in puffs of smoke, Neji looked quizzically at Naruko.**

 **"Why in small groups? Why not all at once?" he queried.**

 **"Because that would knock me out." Naruko replied with an exaggerated wince, "Receiving the memories of five hundred clones at once? Ow. I'd wake up with the worst headache ever as well."**

 **"It must be hard to use Shadow Clones in combat with that facet of the jutsu." Neji observed.**

 **"Not really." Naruko replied, "Despite how useful they are in combat, they only take one solid hit before they are destroyed, which means that quite a few can be destroyed at a rapid pace with a wide-area jutsu. That keeps the memories from overloading me, especially if they are only a few minutes' worth each."**

Everyone nodded along with the explanation, silently though they were more and more awed that Naruto could even learn such a technique the more they hear of what it can do.

 **"A most youthful explanation." Gai said approvingly as the last few Shadow Clones vanished, "Now, I would ask that you have a spar with my most youthful student Lee!"**

 **"Hai, Gai-sensei! I shall show Naruko-san how brightly my youthful flames can burn!" Lee declared, his eyes burning with determination.**

 **"Don't hold back on me Lee-kun." Naruko warned as she assumed the ready stance of _Ushio-ken_ , called the Araumi (Riptide) Stance, with her right arm slightly extended forward and her left arm held back slightly and her feet set in a firm, but fluid position, "I won't be able to get a good feel for my progress without a good challenge of my skill."**

Yuki smirked and muttered to himself "Anaklusmos..." 

* * *

A few dimensions over, a certain water loving demigod sneezed, the action lurching him forward enough to dodge an unseen arrow that a wayward son of Apollo shot at him during their labyrinth war. 

* * *

**"Yosh! Such a youthful request! I shall gladly honour it, Naruko-san!" Lee declared as he assumed the ready stance of the _Gōken_ , one hand tucked behind his back and the other held diagonally in front of him.**

 **"Just call me '-chan' Lee-kun." Naruko admonished, "Formality isn't my thing."**

 **"Very well Naruko-chan." Lee said with a smile.**

 **Gai looked on approvingly, Neji kept his face blank and Tenten smiled at how well her more…exuberant teammate was getting on with the girl, who Tenten had to admit was intriguing.**

Tenten was also finding Naruto to be intriguing, and was wondering how he was in some of the other dimensions.

A very small part of her was starting to wonder if Hinata would be willing to share, however.

 **"Ready?" Gai said as he raised his hand. Seeing both genin nod quickly, their eyes locked on each other, the spandex clad jonin brought his hand down as he said, "Hajime!"**

 **" _Ikimasho_!" yelled Lee as he charged forward so fast Naruko almost couldn't read his attack, a swift uppercut. She quickly dodged it and responded with an elbow strike at the arm itself.**

 **The strike hit, but seemed to barely phase the other genin, who spun on one foot while aiming a low kick at Naruko's legs.**

 **" _Konoha Reppū_! (Leaf Gale!)" Lee declared as he knocked Naruko's feet out from under her. Naruko quickly shot out one of her hands and pushed herself higher into the air. She flipped over in mid-air and landed lightly on one foot before launching herself at Lee again.**

 **"That initial stance she used…it was defensive." Neji muttered as he watched the two genin exchange blows, "She used her arm like a measuring stick, so she could react to any attack from the front with due alacrity."**

 **"She also recovered very well from Lee's _Reppū_." Tenten said thoughtfully, "Most fresh genin would be knocked flat when that's used on them. I guess that she's been training herself into the ground since she graduated."**

 **"Hmm. Truly a most youthful student. Kurenai is lucky to have her under her command." Gai said with a nod.**

 **"The Genjutsu Mistress?" Neji asked in surprise, "Why would Naruko be assigned to her if she is incapable of genjutsu?"**

 **"I suspect there are a lot of factors." Gai replied as he observed Naruko being gradually overwhelmed by the more experienced genin, "Chief among them I suspect are the control exercises that Kurenai can teach Naruko in order to fully harness her reserves to her fullest."**

Yuki muttered to himself, more out of a mental note since Naruto was... busy "Note to self, add in possible chakra control exercises to all genin... spoils... yes, that's a good name for it..."

 **Neji nodded thoughtfully. That made sense. Beyond Tree Climbing and Water Walking, there were numerous chakra control exercises that the foremost genjutsu expert of Konoha could teach Naruko, especially with her Shadow Clones to help her speed the process along.**

 **"Oooff!" Naruko was on the ground with Lee's fist an inch from her nose. The bushy-browed genin grinned at the kunoichi he had just defeated.**

The younger genin were in awe at the display they had just seen. Indeed, Yuki had the fight play as a movie for them to watch as he read along.

 **"It seems that the victor today is me, Naruko-chan." Lee said happily as he backed off and offered her a hand up.**

 **"Nicely done, Lee-kun." Naruko grinned ruefully as she grabbed Lee's hand and hauled herself up, "I couldn't even _see_ that last kick. You're _fast_."**

 **"Indeed." Gai said as he stride across to the two genin, "Naruko-chan, I am impressed that, despite facing an opponent of superior skill and more experienced than yourself, you managed to hold your own for a decent length of time before being defeated. I am curious though; why did you not use ninjutsu?"**

 **Naruko raised her eyebrows slightly. "I thought it was a taijutsu spar, Gai-sensei?"**

 **"It was." Gai confirmed, "However most people would use ninjutsu if they are being pushed into a corner like you were."**

 **"What would be the _point_ of using ninjutsu in a taijutsu spar?" Naruko said as she rolled her eyes, "The entire point is to improve my taijutsu. Using ninjutsu would be cheating and not gain me any improvement."**

 _'Something that most versions of Sasuke just can't seem to grasp'_ Yuki thought darkly.

 **"Hmm. Well said." Gai nodded approvingly, "Now, this is what I learned from watching you. You lack physical strength and speed but have plenty of youthful stamina, which is good."**

 **"So basically, I'm weak and slow, but I can fight for a long time. Great." Naruko said dryly.**

 **"Ah, have no fear, Naruko-chan!" Gai assured her, "I have a most youthful solution that I can give you tomorrow. For today however, I would like you to perform 500 punches, 500 kicks and run around Konoha ten times."**

 **Naruko stared at him in disbelief. _'I am so going to be sore tomorrow.'_ she thought as she began the first punch.**

* * *

**Around the same time**

 **Hokage's Office Hokage Tower**

 **Sarutobi Hiruzen had been forced to endure numerous awkward conversations in his long life as a shinobi. Having to give his son Asuma 'the Talk', explaining to Naruko about periods and cramps, having to explain the consequences of the Uchiha stabbing Naruko to her and explaining why most men had nosebleeds when confronted by naked females to her were just a few examples.**

That got a couple of snickers from the guys, and a look of understanding from the girls who just figured out that THAT conversion at the end of that sentence was probably the reason behind Naruto coming up with that jutsu of his.

 **Sitting in his comfortable chair behind his desk, he was staring at Tokubetsu Jonin Mitarashi Anko in mild horror at what she had just suggested he do, which topped the list at the moment.**

 **"Anko…let me try and understand what you are asking of me here…you want me to write up a mission, requested by _Naruko_ , for you about teaching _her_ all the important facets about being a kunoichi that were deliberately not taught to her in the Academy, including Shibari, Seduction and Sexual Education among other things." Sarutobi said slowly, "Is that about it?"**

 **"Yep!" Anko grinned.**

 **Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose firmly. "I just so happen to know what the Academy classes cover in those classes. You, Anko, will no doubt take one look at the lesson plan, scoff at it, throw it out, then proceed to…well, I really do not want to think of my surrogate granddaughter doing those kind of things, thank you very much. Suffice to say you will no doubt go far beyond the Academy's syllabus."**

Ok, now even the most stoic of ninja in that room had a rather healthy blush at just what that statement implied.

 **Anko's face became serious. "Hokage-sama, Genin Uzumaki has a lot of potential, both in combat and infiltration. Those… _fools_ at the Academy have earned the punishment for treason several times over for the amount of sabotage they have done to her training." she said formally, "But this latest offence is unconscionable. They denied her _gender_ , denied her a fundamental part of who and what she is as a _human being_. I am honestly surprised she is as stable a person as she is."**

 **"Naruko…is a strong girl." Sarutobi said absently, "You really believe that this is a necessary step for her?"**

 **"Hokage-sama, the girl is a natural." Anko said frankly, "No ordinary kunoichi could come up with the _Oiroke no Jutsu_. It is a classic case of using feminine wiles against those vulnerable to it, both straight males and lesbian/bisexual females. Hell, she got _me_ with it once. I was out like a light. Doubt she remembers me though."**

 **"And there is no possibility that Kurenai-kun will not find out?" He asked.**

 **"Nai-chan is a very good kunoichi, not that she'll have to be." Anko replied, "What I'm going to do initially is give her The Talk, followed by tips to improve her visual-psychological tactics."**

 **An eyebrow went up on Sarutobi's face. "Her what?"**

 **"Her sex appeal of course." Anko said bluntly, making the Hokage choke on his spit.**

"Something Sasuke's fangirls fail at." Yuki muttered out loud. Ino and Sakura squawked at that statement, but was cut off again by Yuki.

"You girls try _too_ hard to force on a mask of _civilian_ beauty. Let me tell you that going that far is usually a _major_ turn off for a majority of Ninjas out there. And the ones that _usually_ go for that are looking for a one night stand or a prostitute rather than seeing any meaningful relationship."

That shut them up, in fact, it made them pale at the thought of them being whore-ish.

 **"After that, seduction, counter-seduction, Shibari, advanced rope escape techniques…" Anko listed calmly, "Anyway, the point is Nai-chan will be able to pick up on Naruko's change in attitude to me. A teacher of Injutsu (Sexual Arts) and her student have to trust and bond with one another and this is very easy to catch on to. If Nai-chan doesn't catch on to us, she will either have a concussion or not be Nai-chan."**

 **Sarutobi was silent for a moment before sighing. "Very well. I will write the mission scroll up momentarily." he said, "But before I do so…"**

 **He leaned forward and looked a now nervous Anko in the eyes. "I will warn you: Naruko is a family member to me in all but blood. She has trust issues and this request of hers shows she is willing to extend that trust to you. If you break her trust and hurt her, you will _not_ enjoy the consequences. Am I _clear_ , Tokujō Mitarashi?" he stated in a soft but deadly voice that made Anko tremble slightly.**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." Anko whispered in reply, "I wouldn't anyway, I swear. I would _never_ hurt someone like my bastard of a sensei did to me."**

 **"I know." Sarutobi said as he leaned back and grabbed a blank scroll to begin writing up the mission, "I just had to make my feelings on the matter clear. Besides, technically, you could count as Naruko's first girlfriend."**

 **Anko blushed at the comparison. "Hokage-sama, I'm twice her age!" she protested.**

 **Sarutobi chuckled. "And yet, you only look as if you are in your late teens." His brush danced across the scroll in well-practiced strokes as he spoke, "I think, on reflection, that this is an excellent idea. You and Naruko are similar in many ways, so becoming closer to each other will be good for both of you."**

 **Anko instinctively grabbed her shoulder where the _Ten no Juin_ (Curse Seal of Heaven) had been branded on to her by her sick and twisted former master.**

This got everyone's attention, but Yuki just waved it off, "Later."

 **"There. Done." Sarutobi said as he finished writing. He waited a few moments for the ink to dry before he rolled the scroll up and gave it to Anko.**

 **"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Anko said as she turned to leave, "I promise you, this is a mission you will not regret issuing."**

 **After she left, the old man brought out some sake. After a meeting like that, he really needed some. Purely for medicinal purposes of course.**

* * *

"And that's it for that chapter. The next one is Chapter 8: The Seduction of Naruko."

Kiba blushed at the title.

"So..."

The sound of Naruto's voice caught everyone's attention, causing them to turn to the bedroom door that Naruto and Hinata were whisked away to. Naruto opened the door to reveal his jumpsuit collar hanging off one of his shoulders, revealing a number of hickey marks, while the zipper was halfway down and his leg pouch bandage had half torn so the bag was flopping back and forth with each step he took Looking at his face didn't show much out of the ordinary except for the lop-sided headband that looked ready to fall off. Hinata meanwhile was hiding behind him with a glowing blush, her hair was a mess and she was in a similar state of dishevelled as Naruto. She also had hickeys on her neck, which were only partially visible due to her off center headband.

"What'd we miss?" 


	9. Ch 8: The Seduction of Naruko

Yuki started off the next chapter, " **Chapter 8: The Seduction of Naruko**."

Realizing how that sounded, Naruto stared down at his lap in a blushing fidgety mess.

 **Evening**

 **New Uzumaki Clan Estate**

 **Naruko groaned as she walked into the mansion. Her arms and legs felt like someone had been smacking them with rubber hoses for five hours straight.**

 ** _'Gah. Dammit Gai-sensei!'_ Naruko screamed to herself inside her head. She would have screamed aloud, but she was just too damn tired to bother. She had not only done the first set of exercises Gai had told her to do, she had sparred with Lee again…twice, and had done another repetition of the initial workout before Gai had called it a day.**

The younger genin stared in slight awe and disbelief. There was someone who could wear out Naruto/Naruko 'limitless stamina' Uzumaki?

 **Naruko reached the hidden door to the living quarters and ran through the opening sequence on autopilot. She was sooo going to kill Gai-sensei for this, right after she thanked him.**

 **Hey, who said she had to make sense? She _was_ called the Most Unpredictable Ninja in Konoha after all.**

Breaking from his embarrassment over what the chapter will be covering, Naruto nodded at the title he and his other carried "Damn straight!"

 **As the Karakuri Door clanked open, Naruko wished she could have gone to Ichiraku Ramen for a post-training gorge of Ramen, but she remembered her own words to Ino that morning and had decided to see what was in the fridge at home.**

 **"Naruko-chan?" Ino said as the bruised and battered kunoichi stumbled into the living room where Ino, Hinata and Anko were sitting and having a chat, "What the hell happened to you?"**

Seeing the picture of said B&B'd kunoichi had many pale. What kind of hell did this Naruto, er... Naruko have to go through?

 **"Extra training." Naruko grunted as she sat down on a free seat, "Remember Gai-sensei? He has a mini-version of himself…who kicks like a mule. He also has _insane_ training ideologies."**

 **"What did he make you do?" Anko asked with a grin.**

 **"Sadist." Naruko accused her, "1000 kicks and punches each, 20 laps of Konoha and three sparring matches against Rock Lee."**

 **Ino and Hinata gaped at the tired girl. She had done all that and _wasn't_ unconscious?**

The others weren't far behind the book Ino/Hinata. Well, except for Lee, who was ranting about youthfullness behind the muting, or at least that's what it looked like.

 **Ino groaned. "Naruko, can you _please_ stop making the rest of us look lazy by comparison?"**

Shikamaru muttered to himself "...There's nothing wrong with that..."

He was promptly smacked upside the head by Ino, eliciting a muffled shout of pain from said lazy genin.

 **Naruko grinned wanly at Ino. "Try being on this side of thing Ino-chan." she replied tiredly, "I have to counter all of Mizuki-teme's sabotage on me, which should take years. I'm essentially stuffing the most important parts of a _six year curriculum_ into as short a time as possible."**

Everybody flinched at that, and most felt sorry for Naruto.

 **"Ouch." Ino winced at the thought, "At least you have your clones to help out though."**

 **"Doesn't help with physical conditioning though." Naruko said sourly, "Which is why I look like this right now."**

 **"Have you eaten?" Anko asked with narrowed eyes.**

 **A rumble from a now blushing Naruko's stomach answered that question.**

 **"Wait…you _didn't_ go to Ichiraku's?!" Ino asked incredulously. Hinata also looked astonished.**

 **"I…decided to start my new diet?" Naruko said sheepishly.**

 **Anko grinned. "What do ya feel like having brat?"**

 **"You offering, Anko-sensei?" Naruko asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"Consider yourself honored, gaki. I only cook for people I like." Anko retorted, "Only Morino Ibiki, Hokage-sama, Nai-chan and a select few others have ever tasted my cooking. So, what do ya want?"**

 **"Umm…Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlets)?" Naruko ventured hesitantly.**

 **"Y'want the trimmings?" asked Anko as she stood, "Shredded cabbage, Miso soup, Tsukemono (pickled dish) and rice?"**

 **"If…it's not too much of a bother…" Naruko said shyly.**

It was weird seeing any version of Naruto behaving so shyly.

 **"Tch." Anko snorted with a small grin as she headed towards the kitchen, "If I think something's a bother, gaki, _I'll_ be the first to say it, not you."**

 **Naruko sat back in her chair and removed her hitai-ate with a weary sigh. Today had been the most physically exhausting day of her entire life.**

 **"Naruko-chan, w-why do you like Ramen so much?" Hinata asked shyly.**

 **Naruko looked at Hinata with a single eye open. "Because it is the Food of the Gods, Hinata-chan." she replied with a forced smile.**

 **Ino, unfortunately, noticed this fact. "Nuh-uh, Naruko. That 'I'm Fine! Don't Worry About Me One Bit!' smile stopped working when we were nine." The Yamanaka Heiress rebuked her fellow blond, "Now spill!"**

The others were eyeing Naruto as he squirmed in his seat.

 **"But-" Naruko tried to protest, before giving up when she saw the determined glint in Ino's eyes. Whenever Ino got THAT look in her eyes, she never gave up. "Fine. Ichiraku's is the only eatery in Konoha that never tried to throw me out or poison me. Add that onto the stores only selling me out-of-date food -if they don't throw me out as well- at outrageous prices, and you get a one-food-only diet."**

The more new things that came out about Naruko's past and how much of it actually matched up with their own Naruto's past... the worse Naruto's classmates began to feel about how they treated the blond.

 **"P-Poisoned?" Hinata squeaked in shock.**

 **"I used to get sick all the time when I was a kid." Naruko replied, "Turns out it was caused by small doses of poison, like a dozen different kinds. I guess they were trying to kill me and make it look like I was sickly or something.**

 **Anyway, my chakra was strong even when I was young, so I had, and still have, an insane healing factor, which carried over to my immune system. I'm now immune to all of the most common poisons used across the Elemental Nations."**

The others who knew that Naruto missed classes using the excuse that he was sick. They thought he was just using it as an excuse to skip!

Hmmm... ghost white...

 **"All because they thought you were the damn fox?!" Ino ground out in anger, "I can't _believe_ how you were treated! I _cannot_ believe it!"**

"I want to make a joke here... so badly..." Yuki muttered to himself.

 **"I-It's not f-fair!" Hinata agreed.**

 **"That was then, this is now." Naruko reassured her teammates, "If they tried any of that bull now that I'm a Shinobi, they could be sent to Ibiki or worse, be sent to the rock quarries for the rest of their life AFTER being sent to Ibiki."**

 **Hinata and Ino didn't look convinced, but just then Anko came in with Naruko's Tonkatsu, so they let it drop.**

* * *

 **The Next Day - After D-Ranks and Team Training**

 **Training Field 9**

 **"So what are these again?" Naruko asked as she looked at the items Gai had just presented to her. They looked like four sets of Buddhist prayer beads.**

 **Tenten, Lee and Neji had been sent home early. Well, _Tenten and Neji_ had gone home. _Lee_ had been told to climb the Hokage mountain…with one arm tied behind his back.  
**  
The looks of disbelief that was on the gennin's faces as they looked at Lee were priceless, especially seeing the mini-Gai gain a look of determination as if he took it as a challenge to do more than his other.

Which earned sighs from Tenten and Neji.  
 **  
"Yosh! These, Naruko-chan, will aid you in your most Youthful endeavors!" The spandex clad Gai replied with a 'nice guy' pose, "They are the anchors for a special Fūinjutsu that was taught to me by Jiraya of the Sannin. It will greatly increase your strength and speed once the training is complete!"**

 **Naruko regarded the prayer beads dubiously, but mentally shrugged. Gai-sensei hadn't steered her wrong yet.**

 **"OK, so where do I put them?" she asked with a grin. Gai beamed at her.**

 **"One around each ankle and wrist." He told her, "But be warned: until the training is finished, you will not be able to remove them."**

 **"Gotcha." Naruko said as she clamped the beads first around her wrists then her ankles before straightening up, "Now what?"**

 **Gai ran through a lengthy series of handsigns and then slammed his hand onto Naruko's chest, making her redden and squeak with feminine outrage.**

"PERVERT!" came the shout from Ino and Sakura. Naruto looked enraged at the act on his other while Lee paled at the thought of his sensei and personal hero being something as unyouthful as a pervert.

 **" _Fūinjutsu: Shishi Ryōin!_ (Sealing Jutsu: Four Limbs Weight Seal!)" Gai declared. The prayer beads changed color to red, then yellow, green and blue before returning to their original white hue.**

 **"Gaaah!?" Naruko grunted in surprise. Her arms and legs felt like she was carrying a full squad of ninja…on each limb!**

Their jaws dropped slightly as those previously enraged overcame their former anger "H-How much is on each limb?"

Yuki blinked a few times before pulling a pamphlet out of from somewhere. "Well... the jutsu's actual name is the Fūinjutsu: Shishi Jūfūin (Sealing Technique Four Limbs Weighting Seal) and to be honest... it doesn't say..."

Cue facevault.

 **Gai noticed the strain on Naruko's face and grinned. "Ah, it seems that the Jutsu has taken hold! How does it feel?"**

 **"Like…I have…people…trying to…rip my…limbs off!" Naruko said as her body shook from the effort of standing.**

 **"Excellent!" Gai beamed even more -if that was possible- at Naruko's revelation, "Now, start running! 50 laps around Konoha!"**

Everyone who wasn't used to hearing about Gai's training regimen had their eyes bugging out of their head, except for Sasuke, who didn't know _what_ to feel about it; Shino, who merely had raised eyebrows, the Aburame equivalent; and Shikamaru, whom Yuki was contemplating how much caffeine to put in the boy's veins before the lazy Nara would actually stay awake.

 **"Are you INSANE!?" Naruko shouted, "I can barely stand up, let alone run! I'll tear my muscles to shreds!"**

 **"Most likely, but with your…ah, _tenant_ , your muscles will heal at a most youthful pace, meaning you will master this exercise in no time!" Gai replied.**

 **"And I'll know that…how exactly?" Naruko asked in a resigned manner.**

 **"When the beads turn red, you will be able to remove them." Gai replied, "I have the utmost confidence that you will master this exercise in no time!"**

 **Groaning with trepidation, Naruko starts to move. The sooner she got this finished, the sooner she could plot how to prank the sadist that was Maito Gai into submission - preferably in a mildly painful and/or embarrassing and humiliating manner.**

Naruto would have agreed if he hadn't passed out from hearing what insane workout his other was having to go through.

* * *

 **12.00 pm**

 **Konoha Main Gate**

 **Kotetsu and Izumo, the so-called 'Eternal Chunin', couldn't believe their eyes. Uzumaki Naruko, the biggest bag of energy in Konoha, looked utterly exhausted. Her arms were shaking, her face was haggard and her running pace was flagging.**

Those that were actually giving a damn had looks of worry on their face at seeing Naruko's current condition. Naruto had regained consciousness and had paled again at seeing just how torturous it looked. He silently hoped he never had to do that kind of training in the future.

Poor deluded Naruto...

 **The two gate guards were here to relieve the so called 'dog watch' for a couple of hours, until the early morning crew were on shift. They were _not_ expecting to see Naruko lapping them at this hour.**

 **"What's with her new jewellery?" Izumo whispered to Kotetsu as the girl jogged past, indicating the blue beads on her wrists and ankles.**

 **"How should I know?" Kotetsu retorted. Right then, the beads glowed for a moment and turned red. Naruko stopped as soon as she caught sight of the beads on her wrist.**

 **" _Finally_!" she half-groaned/half-wept, as she removed the cursed things from her body, "I cannot _believe_ …it took eight hours…to get these things…offa...me…" she trailed off and collapsed onto the ground unconscious, spent from her training.**

"EIGHT HOURS!" Everyone shouted and paled at the thought of going through such a grueling workout.

 **The guards make to go and assist her, but stopped when a purple-haired jonin in a trench coat leapt down next to the young kunoichi, concern written across her face.**

 **"Dammit Gai, I _told_ you that this was too much for only the second day!" Mitarashi Anko muttered angrily as she gently picked Naruko up, "I'm so setting my snakes on the bowl-cut bastard for this. What?"**

 **This last was directed towards a gaping Izumo and Kotetsu, who speedily shook their heads.**

 **"Nothing." "Nadda." They replied at the same time.**

 **"Good. Then there no reason for me to send spiky death your way." Anko said with a sniff before jumping away, Naruko tucked safely in her arms.**

Yuki swore he could hear a "mmm... spiky death..." coming from Tenten. 'Note to self, keep Anko _away_ from Tenten...'

 **"OK, what the Hell?" Kotetsu said, bewilderedly, "Mitarashi Anko, the biggest sadistic bitch in Konoha, was treating Naruko like…like a sibling!"**

 **"Dude, to quote you, how the hell should I know?" Izumo replied, his face equally as puzzled as his friend's was.**

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

 **Naruko's Room, New Uzumaki Clan Estate**

 **Ino and Hinata looked at Naruko lying on the bed with worry in their eyes. The only reason they hadn't gone to look for Naruko after she hadn't come home by the time darkness fell was because Anko had told them she was training.**

 **Anko walked in, shooed the girls to one side, and ran through two handsigns, causing a green glow to appear in between her hands, which were then places on Naruko's nearest arm.**

 **"What's that?" Ino asked.**

The girls were also curious.

 **" _Shōsen no Jutsu_ (Mystic Palm Jutsu)" Anko replied, "An advanced healing jutsu that a few ANBU, mostly in TI, know. Man, she's _really_ been through the mill. Her healing factor is kicking in though."**

Hinata had turned to Sakura and Ino with an uncharacteristic seriousness to her face "We _have got_ to learn that." Getting nods from the two. They did not want to end up in a similar situation with one of their teammates injured and being able to do nothing about it.

 **"Why would Gai-sensei do this?" Hinata asked in a whisper.**

 **"He didn't mean anything malicious by it, brat." Anko said as she moved the healing jutsu to her patient's other arm, "He just got too caught up in his enthusiasm with a new student."**

 ** _'That, and Naruko's regeneration is way beyond any sort of healing factor granted by human chakra alone, so this extreme training is uniquely suited for her.'_ Anko added silently.**

Everyone looked to Yuki, who sighed "Didn't I already cover this? Naruto's Uzumaki heritage involves a longer lifespan, rapid healing and large amounts of dense chakra. The healing also works like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets. Add onto the constant damage and healing of the Kyūbi's chakra and you got someone who can heal from most injuries overnight."

 **"He's an idiot!" Ino snapped angrily, "She'd already trained all day with us when she went to meet him! She shouldn't have had to endure this!"**

 **"To Gai's way of thinking, that just means he didn't have to make her do an easy warm up." Anko replied as she moved to Naruko's legs, "He may be nuts, but he IS the acknowledged Taijutsu Master of Konoha. There is _no-one_ who knows more about how to get the human body into peak physical condition than him."**

 **Anko finished healing Naruko and ended her jutsu. "Whew. I used a fair amount of chakra there. She's good, but she'll sleep like the dead tonight and eat like a horse tomorrow."**

 **"Who's going to look after her?" Ino asked with a frown, "Hinata has family training the next two days and the Yamanaka Clan has a meeting tomorrow and who _knows_ how long that might last!"**

 **"I have the day off from T &I tomorrow." Anko said, "I'll look after her. Maybe she'll give me some money of my rent if I do."**

 **Ino rolled her eyes. " _Sure_ she will, Anko-sensei." she said, her voice laced with heavy doubt and mild sarcasm.**

 **"Bah. Scat brats. Off to bed with you!" Anko chased them out with a mad grin on her face.**

* * *

 **10.00 am**

 **Naruko's Room, New Uzumaki Estate**

 **Naruko's awakening came slowly and painfully. Her arms and legs were fighting one another to complain about how sore they each felt and how little they appreciated her efforts the previous day.**

 **"Owww…" she groaned as she sat up stiffly, wincing at the pain in her butt. Who knew that a person's butt could hurt so badly after being exercised? Moreover…should nails ache?**

Yuki chuckled lightly "Actually that's pain bleed-over. When something hurts, it's usually never a specific spot. If it is, that's usually registered as a sharp pain. Overall like that means that the general area hurts, even if those spots aren't injured or in any real pain. So if your arms hurt, you may feel like you have sore hands and fingers, even if those spots aren't what's really in pain."

 **"You really did a number on yourself, brat." A voice said from the doorway. Naruko looked up to see Anko leaning against the doorframe, clothed this time thankfully.**

 **"Yeah…I can tell." Naruko croaked back, her throat desert dry.**

 **"C'mon then, let's get you fed, brat." Anko said as she turned around, "We've got a lot to cover today."**

 **Naruko flushed as she remembered exactly _what_ they were going to cover that day. She shook her head determinedly as she slowly stood and wobbly made her way to the dining room. That could wait until _after_ she had refilled her stomach with food.**

Naruto didn't know whether to pale or blush.

 **After a tasty meal of rice, miso soup and Karaage (Deep-fried chicken), Anko used her healing jutsu on Naruko again, which took away the lingering aches and pains of the previous day, thank kami.**

 **Anko settled back in a chair of the living room. "I've managed to wrangle two days for the first lesson." she informed her pupil, "As Hinata is going to be away for two days, I asked Inoichi to keep Flower Girl for an extra day. Add in the little fact that Hokage-sama gave Nai-chan an A-Rank mission for the next two days as her team was split up and we have plenty of time to cover most of your… _requests_."**

 **Naruko, sitting opposite her, gulped slightly and cast around for something to say. "Umm…Why don't you have a nickname for Hinata-chan? Or me for that matter?" was the first thing she could think of.**

 **"Most of the names I could call the Hyūga girl relate to her Kekkei Genkai, not her as a person." Anko replied, "I prefer to get to know a person before nicknaming 'em. As for you…I don't wanna give you any nickname that compares you to your…burden."**

 **"Thanks, Anko-sensei." Naruko smiled at the older woman.**

 **"Meh." Anko grunted, fighting down a smile, "Me and you are a lot alike, gaki, more than you know. That's the first lesson today."**

 **"Huh?" Naruko said, puzzled.**

 **Anko slipped her coat off and exposed her shoulder. On it, was an intricate seal, surrounding another seal. The first was a bunch of complex sealing formula that Naruko couldn't make heads or tails of, except for the fact it was a containment seal.**

 **The second seal was three magatama-shaped tattoos in a triangle formation. It was even more complex than the first one but she could tell, even with Naruko's small experience with seals, that it was sloppily made, with bad connections and poorly built matrices all over the place.**

"One: yes, Orochimaru sucks at seals, and that one is so badly done that it has a 90% chance of killing the one it's applied to. The only reason it's considered a high level cursed seal is because its damn near impossible to remove. And Two: Sasuke, you end up getting one in the future and defect. Hopefully this time you won't but here's another point, if you were to defect and go to Orochimaru, that means that there is no more Uchiha clan. Meaning all of those jutsu that are for the Uchiha, all of those houses and belongings, will either belong to the village, or be auctioned off. Imagine that, all of the clothes you left behind up for the highest bidding fangirl."

Sasuke looked ghostly white and was shaking like a leaf at the mere thought.

 **"What _is_ that?" Naruko asked.**

 **"This Naruko, is the _Ten no Juin_ , the Curse Seal of Heaven, and it is the reason why I am held in only slightly higher regard than you in the eyes of the villagers." Anko said seriously.**

 **"Wh...aaat?" Naruko breathed.**

 **"My sensei was the Snake Sannin Orochimaru." Anko informed her bluntly, "I was the only survivor of my genin team during the Chunin Exams and afterwards, Orochimaru took me as his apprentice. He let me sign the Snake Contract, taught me all his Snake-style ninjutsu and taijutsu and I was happy.**

 **Then he defected from Konoha, branded me with this… _abomination_ …and left me to die in Umi no Kuni. See, this mark kills nine out of every ten people who are marked with it."**

 **Naruko gasped. "He didn't…?!"**

 **"You bet your ass he did." Anko said bitterly, "Problem is, I can't remember properly exactly what happened there. I remember two different scenarios. The first is the Hebi-teme telling me I'm weak and not worth training any further, then he marks me. The second is me refusing to obey the bastard when he wants me to betray Konoha, so he beats the shit out of me first _then_ marks me."**

 _'Hmm... from the flashbacks I've seen, it's the first one that happened. Must be because this takes place in an alternate universe...'_

 **"If I get a chance, I'm gonna beat that teme until he begs for mercy." Naruko ground out, her eyes flashing dangerously.**

 **"No, you'll run like the Kyūbi is after you." Anko corrected her sharply, "Although he's an A-Rank bastard, he's also a high S-Rank Nuke-Nin. Way out of your weight class…for the moment."**

 **"For the moment?" Naruko asked excitedly.**

 **"Yeah gaki, for the moment." Anko replied with an amused smile, "I'm classed as a high A-Rank Ninja in the Bingo Books of most countries. You, once you're trained up and all, can surpass my bastard-sensei. I'd stake my reputation on it."**

Naruto beamed slightly in pride on hearing that.

 **"Your reputation as a sadistic and ruthless bitch?" Naruko asked for clarification.**

 **"You catch on quick gaki." Anko said, her face becoming serious again, "Back to the point. Because of this damn seal, nobody trusted me. They all thought - _still_ think even- that I'm a spy for my ex-sensei. Meaning, to them, that I can't be trusted and that they have the right to treat me very much like they treat you."**

 **"Assholes." Naruko muttered.**

"Agreed..." muttered Yuki and Naruto.

 **"And then some." Anko agreed, "Point is kid that I'm probably the only person in all of Konoha who has anything approaching an idea of what it's like to be you, which in turn means I'm the best person to teach you Injutsu."**

 **"Injutsu?" Naruko asked with a frown.**

 **"The Sexual Arts." Anko replied bluntly,**

Naruto blushed heavily while Kiba and Hinata started to get nosebleeds.

 **"Although it actually encompasses everything from 'Dress to Distract', to actual sexual techniques, to how babies are made, to _Ninpō: Kō Ninshin no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Anti-Pregnancy Jutsu)."**

That last one confused the girls "What?"

Yuki thought about it for a moment "It's a jutsu that bounces around. Many try to come up with some method of birth control, from a seal, to a jutsu, or even good ol' fashion medicine."

 **Naruko was blushing in a way remarkably similar to Hinata. "So, err, where…do we start?"**

 **Anko grinned wickedly. "Why, at the beginning of course - the birds and the bees!"**

 **The next two hours were the most embarrassing of Naruko's life as Anko explained to her all about the process of how babies were made, veering between technical descriptions and graphic details as she spoke.**

 **By the end of it, Naruko's face resembled a cherry in color and she was fidgeting at some of the descriptions Anko had used.**

Naruto wasn't that far behind.

 **Anko was grinning at how quiet and uncomfortable the usually rambunctious kunoichi was now. This was such a fun assignment!**

 **"Any questions, gaki?" she asked innocently (or as innocently as Mitarashi Anko was capable of being, so _not_ innocent at all).**

 **"No!" Naruko squeaked, "I'm fine!"**

 **"Good." Anko said, making Naruko wilt in relief only to stiffen at Anko's next words, "Then we'll move on to the next topic!"**

 **"W-which is?" Naruko asked cautiously.**

 **"Discovering your sexual orientation." Anko said cheerfully and smirked when the blush on Naruko's face redoubled in intensity.**

 **"Wh-What?!" Naruko looked like she'd just been punched in the stomach.**

 **"This is actually fairly important, Naruko." Anko said seriously, "A rule that was set down in the early days of Konoha is that no one, ninja or kunoichi, is sent on a seduction mission that requires them to sleep with a target who is not of their own gender of preference."**

 **Naruko thought for a moment. "So, you can be sent to seduce both girls and guys because you're greedy?" she asked at length.**

 **"Yep, although I prefer girls. An ANBU ninja acquaintance of mine is gay and is very successful at the seduction of his own gender. There's couple of chunin kunoichi I know for a fact are lesbians and excel at seducing geisha and whores." Anko said with a thoughtful look on her face, "They're twins and boy, are they _good_ in the sack."**

Kiba got a full blown nose rocket and hit a conveniently placed wall before slumping down into unconsciousness.

 **"Twin sisters? At the same time?" Naruko asked in amazement.**

 **"Oh yeah. They live in the same apartment, so it would be rude to… _entertain_ only one of them." Anko said with a lecherous grin.**

 **"And it has nothing to do with the fact that you are insatiable, sensei?" Naruko asked pointedly.**

 **"Well, that too." Anko admitted as she stood up and walked towards Naruko, "But they both enjoy sharing a lover when it's not a mission and they enjoy being dominated as well, so they're a good fit for me."**

 **"D-Dominated?" Naruko asked as Anko drew closer, deliberately walking slowly.**

Surprisingly Shikamaru got a minor nosebleed, who knew?

* * *

Elsewhere, a Suna Kunoichi with a large fan sneezed while chasing her brother for getting into her makeup... again...

Said brother then was distracted by the sudden urge to shout that 'It's War Paint!' which caused him to trip and faceplant into a wall, letting him get caught and pummeled by his sister.

Nearby their homicidal little brother watched on in rare amusement. He always did like his sister...

* * *

 **"Uh-huh. In bed, most people fall into three categories. Submissive, dominant and switch." Anko said as she grabbed Naruko, tugged her to her feet, dragged her to the couch, sat her down before taking a seat herself right next to Naruko, and continued.**

 **"Submissive people let other people take the lead in bed. In extreme cases, they let their bed partners have almost total control of their lives. A good example of submissive girls that you know would be Hinata and Flower Girl."**

Hinata blushed while Ino didn't know whether to be embarrassed or outraged.

 **"Hinata-chan? _Ino-chan_?" Naruko asked, uncomfortably aware that Anko was well within her personal space, "Hinata-chan I can see, but Ino-chan? She's way too…forceful!"**

"Not always the case." Yuki spoke up "Despite being a shy and reserved girl, I have seen plenty of times where Hinata was a right animal in the sack when she does hook up with Naruto." Ok, he was taking waaaay too much pleasure in the heavy blushes of Hinata and Naruto.

 **"Ah well, that's the thing. Big strong women -big strong _men_ as well come to think of it- aren't always that way in bed. I am, but that makes me the exception rather than the rule." Anko replied as she removed her trench coat and motioned for Naruko to do the same.**

 **"Flower Girl struts and barks, but her bite ain't all that strong. A hundred ryo says that she blushed like a tomato in her Shibari class and she had to change her panties before going to bed on those days. She may not be aware of it herself, but I've had her pegged from the get go as a sub, just from all the descriptions her dad gives in TI." Anko said as Naruko followed her lead.**

Ino's face was as red as a tomato and her eyes had taken on the classic 'deer in headlights' look.

 **"W-Wow." Naruko said as she processed this new information, "Really?"**

 **"Yep. Next, there are dominants. Doms are usually the ones in charge during sex. Most people, through what whacked-out thinking process I do not know, automatically assign men to this category, even although it is patently _not_ true. I am a Dom. I am _always_ in charge during sex." Anko said as she leaned back on the sofa.**

 **"The final category, switch, is rare. They can assume either role at will and are very much sought after by the ANBU Seduction Squad." Anko said as she reached over and pulled Naruko back, the blond turning her head to look at Anko automatically.**

 **"You, Naruko, are a switch." Anko told the younger kunoichi as her blue eyes widened in shock.**

As did everyone else besides Yuki.

 **"B-but…I'm a _virgin_!" Naruko protested, "How can you tell?"**

 **"Experience." Anko replied, "You shift between bossing Ino about, to being quiet and compliant when Pinkie smacks you one. I'm willing to bet that if I were to seduce you, here and now, you'd be calling me Anko- _sama_ by the end of the day. I'm equally sure that, after a bit of 'intense training', you could get Flower Girl to call you 'Naruko-sama' after a couple of rounds."**

At this rate, he was never going to get through this chapter if the rising blushes everyone were sporting were anything to go on.

 **"Whaa…?" Naruko spluttered, "Ino-chan's my friend! And I'm pretty sure she's not into girls!"**

 **"Hmmm…I don't hear you protesting about yourself not being attracted to girls, gaki." Anko noted with a smirk.**

 **Naruko's jaw flopped open and closed for a while before she fell back onto the couch in defeat. "I guess…I had suspicions a couple of days ago, when you walked into the kitchen naked."**

 **"Yeah, I kinda figured by the way you were ogling my tits." Anko replied dryly, "Not that it wasn't flattering mind you, but just something to keep in mind."**

 **"Hey, I've never seen a naked woman other than myself!" Naruko protested, "Can you blame me for being curious?"**

 **"Nope." Anko replied, "Well that sort out one thing at least - you're definitely at _least_ a lesbian. Does the thought of sleeping with a guy repulse you?"**

 **"N-No…not as long as it isn't Sasuke-teme." Naruko said, pulling a face.**

 **"So bisexual, with a preference for women, and brooding emo's are not your type." Anko snorted in amusement, "What're you gonna do if Flower Girl snags the Emo?"**

 **They did not want to hear this, Yuki mused. Listening to people talk about sex was embarrassing unless you were used to it.**

 **The Uzumaki Heiress' face twisted in distaste at the thought. "She won't." Naruko said with certainty, "Sasuke-teme is too much of a self-centred prick to get touchy-feely with a girl -or a guy, if he swings that way- so Ino-chan and Sakura-chan are going to be disappointed if they keep pursuing him. When they get knocked back, I'll be there as a friend for them."**

Yuki nodded "Sasuke does come off at being a bit asexual."

Sasuke didn't have a comment for that.

 **"And if they want to be more?" Anko asked seriously.**

 **"Whatever it takes for my friends to be happy." Naruko replied, equally serious.**

 **Anko smiled. "Well said. That means you will be good at Injutsu."**

 **"W-Why?" There was confusion in the younger kunoichi's voice as she asked her question.**

 **"Because those who are unable to care are poor at lovemaking and cannot use the Injutsu techniques properly." Anko replied, "You care a lot for your friends, who you see as your family. Put this caring into your Injutsu and you will master it in no time."**

 **"Do you really think so?" Naruko asked shyly, "I mean…I am 'The Demon Bitch' after all. Once they find out, do you think my friends will stick around?"**

Despite the high level of blood in face blushing, Naruto did get a few hugs from the girls for comfort.

 **"If they don't, then they weren't real friends in the first place." Anko said firmly, "Take it from me. I found out who my _real_ friends were when the Hebi-teme betrayed Konoha. However, from what I've seen, your teammates at least seem to be intelligent. I'm sure that they will be able to see that you are a scroll and not a kunai."**

 **"Hope so." Naruko muttered forlornly.**

 **Anko looked at the girl with hidden pity. _'She's hiding it well, but she really does fear the thought of having her friends know about the Kyūbi. I think a little distraction is in order.'_**

 **"Well gaki, that's the birds and the bees taken care of." Anko smirked at the younger kunoichi, "Next thing on the list: retail therapy."**

 **"Huh?" Naruko said, puzzled.**

 **"Shopping." Anko translated, "Your outfit is damn good for Dress to Distract purposes, but it still needs a few add-ons and alterations to be that little bit more distracting, so shopping."**

 **"I _do_ need to get a katana so I can learn kenjutsu katas." Naruko thought aloud.**

 **"It's settled then. To the Shops!" Anko declared as she stood.**

There were a collective sigh of relief as everyone tried to get control over their blushes.

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

 **Civilian Clothes Shop, Konoha Shopping District**

 **"Thank kami I brought along storage scrolls." Naruko said as she tucked one into her coat, "Anko-sensei, Is that everything?"**

 **Anko, who was examining some very daring panties, looked up at Naruko's question.**

Kiba, who had managed to recover by that point, had been launched by another nosebleed when he saw the panties. While the girls were somewhere between embarrassed at the obvious lesbian theme the story was taking on, and righteous feminine fury at the pervert.

 **"Let's see…sexy skirts, tops, bras, panties, jewellery, shoes…ah, we need to go to a ninja shop next, to improve your regular genin outfit." she said absently.**

 **The shop owners in the civilian district hated Naruko and would normally have refused to sell her anything. Anko had wrapped the first store owner stupid enough to refuse to serve Naruko in snakes, causing the word to spread: don't refuse to serve the Demon Brat while she was with the Snake Whore.**

Those still conscious scowled at the treatment from the villagers, it seemed prolonged hatred dropped IQ like an Akimichi does weight loss supplements.

 **"'Kay, but most ninja shops will refuse to serve me." Naruko warned her as they left the store. She had bought her kunai and shuriken from a store run by a recent immigrant to Konoha, who thus had no reason to hate her.**

 **"Nah, I know one that'll serve ya." Anko said with a grin, "They're civs, but they're also retired ninja. Their adopted daughter is a genin as well, so they understand the needs of a genin very well."**

 **"Cool. So where's this shop?" Naruko asked excitedly. They were in a small close that had very little foot traffic.**

Naruto leaned forward, hope and excitement dancing in his eyes.

 **"Here." Anko stopped in front of a plain, nondescript door, "The first lesson in being a shinobi - look underneath the underneath. A phrase used too often by Hatake _Baka_ shi,**

That got some snickers.

 **but in this case it fits. This is the best shop for ninja gear in Konoha, but only those people who are in the know can shop here."**

 **Naruko nodded and the two kunoichi entered the shop.**

Tenten frowned for a moment "Wait a minute..." the store looked familiar...

 **Naruko had to stop herself from drooling at the array of weaponry on display. Ninjatō, Kodachi, Shuriken, Kunai, Katana, Nodatchi, Wakizashi, Senbon…there seemed to be no end to the weaponry on display. She thought she could see a Zanbatō or two as well.**

Behind the counter, there was a familiar bun-haired kunoichi wearing an apron over her pink blouse.

Everyone looked at Tenten, as said bun-haired weapon mistress lit up in realization.

Pink Chinese-Style blouse? Check.

Dark brown canvas pants? Check.

Brown Hair in buns? Check.

 **"Welcome to the Higurashi Weaponry and Ninja Gear Shop!" Tenten said, then caught sight of Naruko, who grinned at her.**

Its Tenten!

Naruto looked at her "If that's true that I can shop there, then you might get a lifetime customer Tenten-chan." Tenten blushed a little, on the inside though she was bouncing in joy. Her dad's shop was going to get so many customers!

Which means more weapons for her!

Yay!

 **"Hi Tenten-san." Naruko greeted the older genin warmly.**

 **"Naruko-san. Here to get a new weapon?" Tenten asked as she returned the smile.**

 **"Need your opinion on the gaki's outfit first, Panda Girl." Anko said with a grin as Tenten glared at her. She _hated_ being called that -which was why Anko called her it in the first place.**

 **Tenten vaulted over the counter and walked over to Naruko. She examined the clothes closely, tugging them occasionally and paid close attention to how the seams reacted.**

 **"Not bad." Tenten eventually pronounced begrudgingly, "These are quite good quality clothes and they'll hold up alright in the field. But…"**

 **"…But your store can give her far better quality clothes." Anko finished with a grin, "We'll get the same bodysuit and trench coat, but a smaller, tighter vest and the brat wants a katana or two."**

 **"Oh?" Tenten turned to Naruko, "Why do you need a Katana? You already have Benihime. And more than one?"**

 **"Remember how I told you that Benihime isn't sealed to me yet?" Naruko asked. Receiving a nod from the other girl, Naruko continued, "Well, once she is sealed to me, I have to rename Benihime. She was originally called the 'Karyū no Tsurugi' (Blade of the Whirlpool Dragon) by her creator, the Nidaime Uzukage.**

 **Each successor renames the sword. The Sandaime Uzukage was…bloodthirsty…and called her 'Ketsuryū' (Blood Dragon). The Yondaime Uzukage called her 'Amanokaze' (Heavenly Wind) and my Grandfather, the Godaime Uzukage called her 'Kōyō' (Autumn Leaves)."**

 **"Wow." Tenten muttered, "And I take it that you haven't thought of an appropriate name for her yet?"**

 **"Nope. Each name has to mean something to the person who names it." Naruko explained, "The Nidaime Uzukage, Uzumaki Rensa, forged it to be one of the strongest blades in existence, so she named it after the greatest mythological creature. The Sandaime, Uzumaki Masahiko, loved to kill and considered himself invincible, so the sword was named for both blood and dragons.**

 **His son, Yondaime Uzukage Uzumaki Mikihiko, was a peaceful man and fought only in defence of his home. But when he did fight, he swept all who faced him away like divine wind blowing insects away, so named it his own nickname. The Godaime Uzukage, Uzumaki Tatsuya, was a deeply spiritual man who was almost assassinated during autumn. He was alerted to the assassins by them stepping on fallen leaves. He took that as a sign and named her appropriately."**

Both Naruto, Tenten, and Sakura had sparkles in their eyes. Naruto for the clan history, Tenten for the weapon lore, and Sakura for both the history and the girl power.

 **Anko shook her head in wonder. "Man, that sword has one complicated history. Got any idea for the name?"**

 **"Not yet. I am working on it, but it isn't easy." Naruko admitted.**

 **"Well then, let's get you a couple of good swords to use until you can think of a good name for Benihime." Tenten grinned as she led Naruko to the arrayed ranks of swords.**

 **After some trial and error, Naruko was happy to purchase two high quality swords that Tenten recommended. Neither were Meitō, but were very high quality blades none the less. She planned to absorb one into En'ō Kago-te, then go looking for the old Toji Clan Armoury so she could find an appropriately high-quality Fūma Shuriken to absorb.**

 **Tenten promised that the new coats would be far more durable than Naruko's current ones and that the Clan Symbols would be in the same locations. The preparations would take a couple of days at most, so she should come and pick them up then.**

 **Anko and Naruko left the shop more than pleased with the morning's efforts.**

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

 **Naruko's Bedroom, New Uzumaki Estate**

Realizing what was going to happen, Naruto had a furious blush spread across his face as his eyes got wider in horror.

 **Naruko was nervous. Anko had told her to change into the fancy lingerie they had bought for her earlier, and then disappeared. She was now wearing a black negligee, a thong and black stockings. Her hair was down and she was sitting on the bed.**

 **She was feeling…odd. In her life, she had rarely had much acknowledgement of her gender from those around her, save for the villagers' unflattering insult of 'Demon Bitch'. Even Iruka-sensei had treated her more like a boy than a girl during the Academy. Yet here she was, wearing something that many girls would be cooing over and she was feeling, dare she say it,…sexy?**

Most of the girls there were internally questioning their sexuality and sneaking glances as the nearly comatose Naruto.

 **She was drawn out of her thoughts by the door opening. Naruko looked up to see Anko clad in clothes very similar to her own. The negligee was cut to emphasise Anko's impressive bust, her thong was hiding the bare minimum and her legs were bare of stockings. Overall, she looked…highly desirable.**

Kiba was going to be out for a while. Chōji had passed out, the poor boy couldn't take what he was seeing and his brain short circuited.

 **"Hey gaki." Anko said in a husky voice, "Like what you see?"**

 **"A-Anko…-sensei?" Naruko gulped at the older woman, who was advancing towards her slowly, "Wh-what…?"**

 **"The third part of Injutsu training is to lose your virginity." Anko muttered as she reached Naruko. The older kunoichi grasped the blond girl's chin gently in one hand and made her look at her face.**

 **"I won't force you to sleep with me, Naruko." Anko said gently, seeing the slight fear in her student's eyes, "This is entirely your choice. If you say no, I'll find someone else that you will approve of."**

 **Naruko, her mouth dry, licked her lips, "Will…Will you be gentle with me?" she whispered.**

 **"Of course." Anko replied, "Although later on, there will be some…rough parts...that need to be covered, but your first time is special. I wouldn't spoil it for you by hurting you."**

 **After a scant moment, Naruko nodded, "I'm all yours for the next day then…Anko-sama."**

What happened next was a sexual experience that caused a lot of blood spilled for those genin watching. The only ones who were still conscious were Lee, who had looked away to preserve the naked women's decency, Naruto, who's mind had gone blank as his emptily stared at the screen, and the girls.

The girls who were standing had slumped to their knees as they watched, unable to tear their eyes away from what they were seeing. They were also rubbing their legs together as they watched.

And of course Yuki.

However Yuki had many years to his life and this kind of thing wasn't all that affecting to him. He was sure that the others weren't watching these scenes, and truthfully, he didn't have to show them either. However this was something that was most likely skirted around at the academy and he had to make sure to fix that.

Once the Lemon had ended, Yuki got on with the story.

 **Utterly spent, the new lovers cuddled together as they fell asleep, both looking more relaxed than they had in years. Unnoticed by the two sleeping females, the streaks of red in Naruko's hair deepened in colour and spread slightly so there was somewhat more red than before.**

Everyone that could comment on that were either unconscious or stunned from the sex they just watched.

* * *

 **At the Same Time**

 **Hokage's Office**

 **"Kakashi, what did I tell you just last week?" Sarutobi asked wearily. He was sitting behind his desk gazing disappointedly at the Elite Jonin, who still managed to look unconcerned in the face of his leaders' disapproval.**

 **"With respect Hokage-sama, the training of a genin team is entirely up to the Jonin-sensei. Not other teams' Jonin-sensei, not you." Kakashi said in a monotone.**

 **Sarutobi's gaze sharpened at this rebuke. "No Kakashi, it is not. That _particular_ law only applies to teams that have at least a year of experience and only if the team in question does not contain a shinobi of particular significance to the village.**

 **Team 7 has two shinobi of particular interest; Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. The former because he is the last supposedly-loyal member of his clan, the latter because she has both an almost eidetic memory and nigh inhuman levels of chakra control."**

 **"The only reason she has such good control is because her reserves are so pathetically small." Kakashi pointed out, then winced as Sarutobi closed the jaws of his trap.**

 **"Which you have done nothing about! No chakra control exercises, no jutsu training, no taijutsu training, unless you call those mockeries of spars 'training'!" Sarutobi shouted, finally fed-up of Kakashi's laziness, "The skill level of your genin is _exactly the same_ as when they were in the Academy!"**

 **"They are genin and it's peace time, they don't need to be war trained!" Kakashi protested, prompting an incredulous look from Sarutobi.**

 **"There _is_ a middle-ground between 'no training at all' and 'training for war' Kakashi!" Sarutobi said as he shook his head, "I would have thought you would know that; evidently I was wrong. Alright, look. I will be blunt: you are on your last chance. In a month's time, your team will be tested by an individual of my choice. Should your team give a good accounting of themselves, you will remain the jonin-sensei of Team 7.**

 **Should they _not_ perform adequately on the other hand, you will be demoted to the _Assistant_ Jonin-sensei and Mitarashi Anko will be made the new Jonin-sensei of Team 7. Do you understand, Kakashi?"**

 **"ANKO?! You'd let her loose on a team of _genin_?!" Kakashi yelped in shock, "She'd tear them to pieces! She wouldn't know moderation if it slapped her across the face with a fish!"**

 **"In which case, you had better get to training your genin then, shouldn't you?" Sarutobi said meaningfully, "Oh, but before you go, why did you make Sakura the ASL? I would have thought your bias would be to make Sasuke ASL rather than Sakura."**

 **"To try to break the girl of her Fangirlism and to teach Kiba and Sasuke that gender and birth are meaningless in the real world." Kakashi replied sullenly.**

 **"This is one decision you've made that I approve of, Kakashi." Sarutobi said with a small smile, "Now, go to your genin and train them!"**

 **Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sarutobi pulled out his crystal ball and used his _Tōmegane no Jutsu_ (Crystal Ball Jutsu) to ensure that Kakashi was actually obeying his order rather than go to the Shinobi Memorial as he usually did. Unsurprisingly, the man was at the memorial reading his book. Sarutobi shook his head sadly, as he put the ball away.**

 **"Ah, Kakashi, Kakashi, you really shouldn't take me lightly." Sarutobi muttered as he opened a drawer, withdrew a small orange book and opened it at the bookmarked page with a perverted giggle.**

 **"Jiraya-kun, you are a genius writer! I'm proud of you, my boy." Sarutobi muttered as a small stream of blood trickled down one nostril as he continued to read the masterpiece of a book, which was called 'Icha-Icha Paradise'.**

* * *

" _Ok_ and that ends that-" He was cut off when the girls all grabbed Naruto and dragged him off to the bedroom that he had provided earlier.

"-chapter..." he let out a sigh. "Well... might as well allow them some recovery and... _relief_... time before starting the next chapter..." He made some personal bathrooms for the boys to relieve themselves in... once they woke up.

"Then we can start the next chapter... Gentle Steps and Flower Petals..."


	10. Ch 9: Gentle Steps and Flower Petals

**(AN: sorry for the delay, my life has been a bit of a mess lately)**

Yuki looked at the returning genin with an amused look. The girls were blushing and were a mess, and they _definitely_ had that glow of lost innocence.

Kiba looked rather jealous of Naruto right now, especially since the girls all seem to sit and want to snuggle up to their new boyfriend.

"Huh... fivesome... guess that stamina really does translate to the bedroom..." Yuki muttered out loud, which got a wide-eyed look from Kiba, Chōji and surprisingly Neji as they stared at Naruto.

"Was he any good?" the blush that rapidly spread across the girls faces as their expression slipped into daydreaming answered Yuki's question.

Yuki then opened the book back up to the proper page " **Chapter 9: Gentle Steps and Flower Petals**."

 **The Same Day**

 **Clan Meeting Room, Main House, Hyūga Clan Compound**

 **Uncharacteristically, the Hyūga Clan Elders were _not_ glaring at Hinata, which was a novel experience for the Heiress. Usually most of them were gazing at her in absolute and complete contempt before her father entered the room and stopped them with his mere presence.**

Now Hinata was the one who was under the gaze of the others, making her shrink into her jacket only to be stopped by a hug from Naruto, who had attempted to comfort her.

 **Instead, the Elders were quiet and, dare she say it, worried about something. Off the top of her head, she could think of but one incident that could cause the Elders to become as concerned as they were and she was secretly looking forward to watching their faces as they were lambasted for letting Arashi get out of control as he had.**

That comment got a rare smug look from Hinata upon hearing that.

 **Just then, Hyūga Hiashi walked in and took his position next to Hinata. From what Hinata could see of her father, he was tense, angry and looked ready to flay the skin from something or, more to the point, some _body_.**

 **"Hyūga Arashi has been formally convicted of one count of Assault on Fellow Konoha Shinobi, two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Murder, one count of Destruction of Private Property and one count of being an unregistered Sealmaster." Hiashi said without preamble, "I have just returned from a meeting with Hokage-sama, Inuzuka Tsume and Yamanaka Inoichi where I was informed of this. Comments?"**

 **Arashi's father, Elder Gyoza, frowned thunderously. "He was convicted without a representative of the Hyūga Clan present? Outrageous!" he blustered, "The conviction cannot stand as it is illegal!"**

Some of the others growled at the obviously corrupt man.

 **"In matter of fact it can and _does_ stand." Hiashi growled, "Your foolish _imbecile_ of a son was responsible for the manufacture of over a hundred _badly made_ explosive tags that were used to blow up the former residence of one Uzumaki Naruko. The tags were infused with his chakra, which is a solid piece of evidence linking him to the attempt to kill Uzumaki-san, _negating_ the need for a Clan Representative or even a trial.**

 **In addition, he was defeated, with the greatest of ease I might add, by Elite Jonin Maito Gai when he and his fellow conspirators attempted to assassinate Uzumaki-san in person. The evidence is both unimpeachable and undeniable."**

 **Another Elder, Hyūga Oboro, cleared his throat delicately. "What did Hokage-sama have to say on the subject?" he asked softly.**

 **Hiashi snorted. "He was furious that his surrogate granddaughter was almost killed _twice_ in less than _three days_. He gave me a list of punishment that can be given to Arashi and we must pick one of them." he said angrily.**

 **"He _dares_ to make demands of _us_?" Gyoza asked furiously.**

"If he exists back home, he is so getting pranked to oblivion for this..." Naruto muttered with retribution on his mind.

Meanwhile the portion of Sasuke's mind that still loved Itachi and wanted him back was going over the idea of simply using Naruto to prank the hell out of Itachi instead of killing him.

 **"He is the _Hokage_." Hiashi reminded the insular idiot, "He is not the leader of a lesser Clan that we can cow with our status, nor is he a civilian merchant we can impress with our power and prestige. He has the right to summarily execute Arashi for his attack on his Clan Ward or even use this to force a lessening of the status of the _entire Hyūga Clan_ for the affront offered to the position of Hokage for one of us attacking one of his Shinobi.**

 **Instead, he is choosing to humiliate us by forcing _us_ to choose his punishment and forbidding any punishments not on the list. If we ignore his directive, the consequences will be…unfavorable to the Clan."**

 **The silence was palatable in the room, before one of the three Branch House Councilmen spoke, "As… _distasteful_ …as this might be, we should at least hear what punishments we have to choose from before considering other actions. Hasty choices are for those who let their emotions rule them, such as the Inuzuka. _We_ are Hyūga. _We_ rule our emotions, _not_ the other way around."**

Yuki muttered to himself "At least this version of the Hyūga elders has some branch member representation..."

 **Hiashi nodded at the man, Hyūga Kagemaru if he remembered correctly. "Well spoken." he praised the man, "Yes, you should hear all of the options before a decision is made, although I should warn you that neither of the options are what you might call palatable."**

 **"Get on with it already Hiashi." Oboro snorted, "The warnings you're giving won't sink in until we hear the damn choices anyway."**

 **Hiashi chuckled humorlessly. "A fair point. Very well. These are the two choices; One: Arashi's chakra is to be sealed, he is to be dishonorably discharged from the Ninja Forces and he is to be banished both from the Clan and from Konoha. Two: He forfeits all of his personal possessions, both ninja tools and Clan items that do not contain Hyūga Clan secrets to Uzumaki Naruko as per the Spoils of War Act, section two, all of his mission pay for the next ten years is to be given to Uzumaki Naruko and he is to branded with the Sleeping Bird Seal."**

This caused a bit of shock amongst the genin. "Wh-What's the Sleeping Bird Seal?"

Yuki looked up from the book "Well, Hinata, the Sleeping Bird Seal is a seal similar to the Caged Bird Seal that the Hyūga have, however instead of causing pain at a handsign or sealing away the _Byakugan_ , what it does is make it so that the person sealed cannot pass their _Byakugan_ on to any future children. It is usually given to Hyūga who wish to marry out of the clan so as to protect the _Byakugan_ from spreading outside of the clan's control."

 **The council was in uproar. The punishments were extreme opposites and contradicted too many Hyūga Clan Laws to be permitted! The additional stipulation that no other punishments were to be allowed precluded the use of the Caged Bird Seal, so the banishment option was out of the question.**

 **Hiashi smirked internally. The deal that he had worked out with the Hokage was working out wonderfully. The council was faced with two distasteful options: One, send Arashi out into the world with no chakra and no seal to keep the _Byakugan_ safe and Two, make Arashi into a source of income for Uzumaki Naruko and prevent his line from continuing. It was obvious which would be picked and it was only a matter of time before the council realized it.**

Naruto looked at Hinata and in a serious tone asked "Hinata, do you think I can team up with your father to prank the elders that deserve it?"

Hinata didn't know what to say to that.

Yuki had telepathically transferred the request to his brother, leading to Hiashi getting a... rather disturbing grin on his face that looked too much like Kushina's retribution prank grin (tm).

 **Gyoza summed up the feelings of the Hyūga Council quite well with his roar of, "This is an outrage! All of these so-called punishments are little more than a slap in the face of Arashi, myself and the Hyūga Clan as a whole! They cannot be countenanced!"**

 **Hiashi regarded the man for a moment before turning to Hinata. "My daughter, you were present when the second assassination attempt was made, were you not?" he asked coolly.**

 **"H-Hai, I was Otou-sama." Hinata replied.**

 **"Had Maito Gai not interfered with Hyūga Arashi's attack on Uzumaki Naruko, what do you think would have happened?" he questioned neutrally.**

 **Hinata chewed on her lip as she thought for a moment before answering. "I-In all likelihood, Hyūga Arashi would have b-been engaged by Tokubetsu Jonin Mitarashi Anko, whilst my Jonin-sensei, Yūhi Kurenai, dealt with the Inuzuka Clan member and my teammates and I would have still confronted Yamanaka Haruo." she ventured.**

 **"I see." Hiashi's poker face was inscrutable, "And what is your assessment of Yamanaka Haruo's abilities?"**

 **"H-He's slightly slower than average for a Jonin, with powerful Katon ninjutsu in addition to the techniques of the Yamanaka Clan." Hinata responded immediately, "With the combined abilities of me and my teammates, we could have, and did, defeat him."**

 **"The final blow was by Uzumaki-san was it not?" Hiashi questioned.**

 **"H-Hai. She dodged a powerful Katon, the _Gōryūka no Jutsu_ , and delivered a strong kick that Haruo was unable to avoid." Hinata replied.**

 **"Oh? And why was he unable to avoid Uzumaki-san's attack?" Hiashi questioned.**

 **"B-Because…I…I used the _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_ on him a minute before the last blow was struck." Hinata replied hesitantly.**

 **"Preposterous!" scoffed Gyoza, "I know for a fact that Hiashi has not taught you _any_ of the three Main Family Taijutsu attacks, Hinata-'sama', so cease your lying at once!"**

They were liking this asshat less and less.

 **"Honoured Elder, I am t-telling the t-truth." Hinata replied.**

 **"Indeed she is." Hiashi said as he turned the 'Hyūga Glare' onto Gyoza, making the Elder quail slightly, "She performed the technique on Hanabi at my request and performed it nearly perfectly."**

 **"But then…how did she learn it?" Oboro questioned, "Did you teach her, Hiashi-sama?"**

 **"No, I did not." Hiashi replied, "Hinata learned the technique _by herself_ from a scroll she found that was written by her mother, Hitomi. I have examined the scroll in question and have found it to contain an altered version of the technique, designed for a Hyūga who has a Water Primary Elemental Affinity. Hinata, you recently had your Affinity tested, did you not?"**

 **"H-Hai." Hinata replied, "I-I have a primary Water Affinity and Secondary Wind Affinity. My sensei were…shocked…that my affinity was not tested before now."**

 **Gyoza sniffed disdainfully. "That happens to be a Hyūga Clan _tradition_ that outsiders have _no_ right to criticize."**

 **"That is a subject for another time." Hiashi said pointedly, "To return to the main point, Hinata is right in saying that Arashi would have been confronted by Tokujō Mitarashi, who would have been hard pressed to defeat him. Jonin Yūhi would be useless against a Hyūga as our _Byakugan_ all but completely negates her genjutsu. Moreover, he would have torn through the members of Team 8 with ease.**

 **Should Arashi and his allies have succeeded, he would have been forced to flee Konoha with them, resulting in a _Byakugan_ _outside of our control_ and vulnerable to being captured by Kiri or Kumo, which would make my brother Hizashi's sacrifice a wasted effort. I am thankful that Maito Gai was assigned to aid Team 8 in this matter otherwise two jonin and three genin - _three Clan Heiresses_ no less- would be dead and our bloodline would be vulnerable to all and sundry."**

 **There was grumbling from the Main Family Councillors, but no outright disagreements.**

 **Hiashi looked around before continuing, "As we are all in agreement that the _Byakugan_ _must_ remain within Konoha and under our control, I must admit that the second punishment fits the bill for Arashi. He must be punished severely so no Hyūga will dare to assault Uzumaki-san -or any _other_ member of the Shinobi Forces- ever again."**

 **"You would make _my_ grandchildren non-Hyūga!?" Gyoza roared angrily. The Elder's face was puce and heading towards a violent shade of vermilion.**

 **"You would prefer him to be banished, with no chakra to protect himself?" Hiashi inquired, "Make no mistake Elder Gyoza, I am _not_ happy that we are being forced to punish one of our own here. I am _also_ not happy that one of our own was _stupid_ enough to be mixed up in this business even peripherally, let alone one of the two _in charge_ of the entire debacle. I will urge you _all_ to spread the word to your families that anyone from the Clan who is found guilty of being involved in similar events will be executed outright and their name struck from the Clan Register. Am I clear?"**

 **Shock was written across the faces of every Council member, even the Branch Family Representatives. Being struck from the Clan Register meant that you were not allowed to be buried with your ancestors, prayed for or even spoken of. The person's name was usually banned from being used for _several generations_ before anyone else was given it again such was the dishonor this entailed.**

Those that were from clans had paled when they heard all of that.

 **"Good." Hiashi said, having gotten his message across, "So, I believe we should vote now. All those in favor of Hyūga Arashi being stripped of his rank in the Shinobi Forces, his chakra sealed and then banished from the village please raise your hand."**

 **Not a single hand was raised, as expected.**

 **"All those in favor of Hyūga Arashi forfeiting his personal Ninja Tools, equipment and personal possessions, save those that contain Clan Secrets and Jutsu, to Uzumaki Naruko, be branded with the _Hyūga Sōke Kechimyaku Hozen no Juinjutsu_ (Hyūga Main Family's Bloodline Conservation Cursed Seal), otherwise known as the Sleeping Bird Seal, and payment of all mission-earned pay for the next decade to Uzumaki Naruko, please raise your hands." Hiashi continued.**

 **Every hand other than Hyūga Gyoza's rose almost as one, with Gyoza glaring at Hiashi with an air of intractable stubbornness about him.**

 **"The majority is in favor. The punishment of Hyūga Arashi has been decided. I will communicate our decision to Hokage-sama tomorrow and arrange for the sealing of Hyūga Arashi for the day after tomorrow." Hiashi said neutrally, "I believe that this is all the business we have at the moment. Does anyone have any new proposals to bring forward?"**

 **"I do." Gyoza snarled, "I put forward the motion that Hinata-'sama' is unfit to continue as Heiress and that she be stripped of her title and branded with the Caged Bird Seal at once!"**

Answering before it could come up "I can pluck him from his world at any point you wish and let you vent your anger at him... later."

 **Hiashi's face hardened. He had half expected Gyoza to try to pull this, but for him to actually do it was more than slightly stupid of the man.**

 **"The motion has been put forward." Hiashi said quietly, "Hyūga Gyoza, kindly state your reasoning for this proposal."**

 **"Isn't it obvious? Her Elemental Affinity is not Earth, therefore her _Juken_ skills are pitiful, and therefore she doesn't deserve the title of Heiress of the Hyūga Clan!" Gyoza expounded fanatically.**

 **"Elder Oboro, please take over as Chair of the meeting so I may defend my daughter." Hiashi said in an ice-cold voice. With a gulp, Oboro nodded his assent.**

 **"Elder Gyoza, your main point here is that Hinata's Elemental Affinities are hindering her use of our Clan Art. Am I correct?" Hiashi asked icily.**

 **"Obviously." Gyoza said his voice brash.**

 **"I take it you recall my wife, Hitomi, Elder Gyoza?" Hiashi asked.**

 **"Yes, of course." Gyoza replied slowly, wary of the apparent tangent the Clan Leader was going down.**

 **"Would you say that she was skilled in our Art?" Hiashi enquired.**

 **Gyoza was confused as to exactly where Hiashi was going with this, but decided to humour him. "Yes, Hitomi was adequately skilled at _Jūken_. I fail to see where you are going with this, _Hiashi_." he said with contempt.**

 **"My wife was a Primary Water Affinity as well." Hiashi said quietly, causing Gyoza's eyes to widen in shock.**

 **"I'll grant you that she couldn't use pure _Jūken_." Hiashi continued, "But she altered and changed it into a Taijutsu Style that she could use with ease. She called this new style the _Jūho_ (Gentle Step). The technique that Hinata discovered was the _Jūho_ version of the _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_ that Hitomi developed."**

"A copy of the style will be in the list of things you receive Hinata."

 **The council was stunned by this news. Hinata was awed that her mother had dared to go against Hyūga tradition and altered their prized family art into something more suited for herself. She dimly recalled her mother practicing her taijutsu one day. She looked as if she was dancing across the floor, far more fluidly than her father or any other practitioner of the _Jūken_ ever could hope to move.**

 **Gyoza was shaken by this revelation. The _Jūken_ was a sacred art passed down through the Hyūga Clan from generation to generation. The choice to make it an Earth-oriented style was made in the very beginning, by the eldest son of the Rikudō Sennin's brother. To have someone alter it into a lesser form was a great blasphemy that could _not_ be countenanced.**

 **"Regardless of a person's elemental affinity, it is _forbidden_ to alter the _Jūken_ in any shape or form." Gyoza said stiffly, "Had this fact been found while Hitomi was still alive, she would have been punished most severely."**

 **"Where in the laws and traditions of our clan is that particular item mentioned?" Hiashi asked politely.**

 **This question stunned the intractable old man for a moment. "It…It's _tradition_!" he shot back, "Traditions are not always written down!"**

 **"So in other words it is _not_ illegal, _nor_ has it been entered into the official traditions of the Hyūga Clan." Hiashi stated pointedly, "Meaning the entire thing is just the conservative nature of the Clan as a whole and this Council in particular."**

Yuki discreetly glared off into a random direction. To those that could see the multiple groups that were reading the stories, they would see that Yuki's glare was aimed at Hiashi, and it was more of an ' _I told you so_ ' glare.

 **Hiashi looked at the council with hooded eyes, "Over the last century, our art, while still strong, has become stagnant and ossified, while other taijutsu styles have evolved and grown stronger than ever before." he said flatly, "If the _Jūken_ does not evolve along with them, we will eventually be overtaken and left behind like dust on the wind."**

 **All of the council cringed at the thought of such a thing happening.**

 **"Preposterous!" Gyoza scoffed, "Our Art revolves around our _Byakugan_. As long as we hold that card, our style is invincible!"**

 **"Sheer arrogance. Has Arashi's defeat taught you _nothing_?" Hiashi sneered, "Maito Gai does not possess the _Byakugan_ , yet he defeated your son without so much as a closed _tenketsu_ in return, in part because he is an Elite Jonin but also in part _because he knew the limitations of the Byakugan_!"**

 **Gyoza gaped at Hiashi in astonishment as the Clan Leader spoke. Just because of that? His son lost _just_ because the man knew a few of the limitations of the Hyūga Clan's Kekkei Genkai?**

 **"Thus far, the Hyūga Clan has managed to keep the weaknesses of our Kekkei Genkai a secret through draconian and paranoiac measures." Hiashi continued, "Eventually though, whether it comes in ten years or a hundred, our enemies will discover at least a few of our weaknesses and seek to exploit them. If we do not make improvements to our Art, we will fall. It is as simple as that."**

 **The bleak picture he painted was making the council blanch in horror, Hiashi noted wryly. The scenario he was outlining was a worst case one and would require a lot of bad luck to happen to the Hyūga Clan in order to happen, but it _was_ possible. The easiest way to confuse people in politics is to tell the truth, even if it was only a half truth.**

 **Gyoza was still doing a passable imitation of a landed fish, so Hiashi took advantage of his stupefaction. He nodded at Oboro, who took the hint.**

 **"Both sides have given their arguments." Oboro said loudly, "We shall now vote on whether Hyūga Hinata should be stripped of her title of Heiress of the Hyūga Clan and be branded with the _Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu_. All those in favor, raise your hands."**

 **A small smattering of hands were raised, including a still dazed Gyoza, who seemed to be running on autopilot while he digested everything Hiashi had said.**

 **"All those against?" Oboro enquired. Every single other hand was raised, eliciting a small smirk from Hiashi and a relieved sigh from Hinata. "The motion is denied. Hinata-sama remains the Heiress and will not be branded by the Caged Bird Seal. I return the Chair to Hiashi-sama."**

 **"Thank you." Hiashi replied, "I have to train my daughter now, so I hereby dismiss the meeting. We will meet at the usual time next month, barring any more unexpected happenings."**

 **As the council filed out of the room, Hinata allowed herself a small smile. She had dodged yet another attempt at being branded before her sixteenth birthday, which was the absolute limit for someone to be branded with the Caged Bird Seal. This made the third attempt in as many years.**

 **More importantly, she had discovered that her mother had developed a taijutsu style based on the _Jūken_ that was for those who had a Primary Water Affinity. Hinata had to get her hands on it so she could prove herself. Not to her father and the Clan, but to Naruko, so she would never have to endure seeing her blond teammate almost die in front of her again.**

Hinata was hugged by Naruto as he began to comfort her "You don't need to prove anything, you're strong already."

* * *

 **Audience Chamber, Yamanaka Clan Meeting Hall**

 **To sum up how Ino was currently feeling required only a single word: BORED!**

 **She had been listening to the squabbling of her fellow clansmen in place of her father, who had been called to a meeting with the Hokage. Adjusting the minimum and maximum amount for dowries, hearing complaints between various clansmen, filling out various dry pieces of paperwork…essentially what her father was supposed to be doing.**

Yuki deadpanned at Ino, "And that's just a taste of what you're going to look forward to when you become head of your clan."

 ** _'Daddy, there had_ better _be a good reason for you to have left me here to do your job for you!'_ Ino thought darkly as she adjudicated in a dispute between two men over a family heirloom that had gone missing and they were each accusing the other of having stolen it.**

 **Just then, her father strode into the room. Ino was about to call out to him, but the look on his face stopped her cold. The expression that covered Yamanaka Inoichi's face was full of anger, mixed with grief and sadness.**

 **"I'm calling the Yamanaka Council together for an emergency meeting." Inoichi said loudly, drawing the attention of the entire room as he spoke, "I'm sorry, but I must ask that everyone wait until tomorrow to have their issues resolved as the issue I have to bring forward is complicated and rather urgent."**

 **With that, he strode off to the private meeting room that doubled as the council chamber when it was necessary, swiftly followed by the rest of the council. Ino hurriedly bowed to the two men in front of her and followed them.**

 **Inoichi, seated at the head of the table, frowned slightly when his daughter walked into the room but begrudgingly nodded in acquiescence to Ino's presence. She was the Heiress and had every right to attend a meeting such as this.**

 **Besides, just letting her in without arguing about it would save him from receiving a scathing tongue-lashing from her for treating her like a kid now that she was a full ninja.**

 **Once everyone took their seats, Inoichi cleared his throat and began. "I've just come from a meeting with Hokage-sama regarding Haruo's punishment." he said bluntly.**

Oh yea, that was happening. Ino was disgusted with the thought of what one of her clansmen had tried to do to her other.

 **The council muttered amongst themselves at this, with Ino smiling viciously in triumph.**

 **"What has Hokage-sama decided to be the punishment?" One Councilman asked carefully.**

 **"As it has been determined, through extensive interrogation by myself and Morino Ibiki over the last week, that Haruo was the only member of the Yamanaka Clan to have knowledge of this matter, the Clan itself will not suffer any penalties." Inoichi replied, answering the unspoken part of his question, "Haruo however is not getting off as easily. He is guilty of using the _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ (Mind-Body Switch Jutsu) on fellow Konoha Shinobi for the purpose of attempting to kill Naruko twelve years ago, as well as Destruction of Private property, Masterminding a Conspiracy to Murder a Civilian and Attempted Murder of a Fellow Konoha Shinobi."**

 **The council winced at the charges, while Ino scowled angrily. Haruo had been trying to kill Naruko for _twelve years_?! Just because he thought she was the Kyūbi reincarnated? Ino ground her teeth and forced herself to listen to what her father was saying.**

Ino, knowing the full truth, also ground her teeth, while Naruto gave her a hug to try and calm her down.

 **"Because he was the one who ultimately commanded and controlled the entire group, Hokage-sama is disinclined to be merciful in his case and he is being sentence to life imprisonment in Hōzuki-jō (Demon Lantern Castle)." Inoichi said gravely.**

 **"The Blood Prison?!" another Councilmember gasped in horror.**

 **The prison in Kusagakure (Village Hidden in the Grass) was well known for its ability to contain its ninja inmates because of the use of the ultimate imprisonment jutsu, _Katon: Tenrō_ (Fire Style: Celestial Prison), but it was also the most brutal prison in existence. Very few survived longer than five years before trying to use chakra to escape and being burned from the inside out by their own chakra or having the warden, Mui, burn them for a punishable offence…like breathing too hard.**

Everyone paled as they heard that.

 **"Hokage-sama is, quite understandably, _adamant_ that a message be sent to everyone that acting as Haruo has will not be mitigated by Clan Status or how close one is to the head of their Clan." Inoichi told them firmly.**

 **"Is that _it_? He just gets sent to prison?" Ino asked disgustedly.**

Now more than just Ino were disgusted, he'd _better_ get more than just that.

 **"As a matter of fact, no." Inoichi replied, "All of Haruo's Ninja Tools are automatically being given to Naruko as per the Spoils of War Act, as well as his entire library of jutsu scrolls, aside from the one to do with Yamanaka techniques which are being given to you, Princess."**

 **Ino squealed in joy. Haruo, being a Jonin, had quite a few scrolls of advanced techniques she could learn.**

Ino almost did the same as she looked at Yuki with hope filled eyes.

Yuki nodded his head "Yes, those will be in with your stuff Ino."

 **Inoichi smiled slightly at his daughter before continuing, "Finally, all of Haruo's money is to be divided between Ino, Hinata and Naruko. That is the entire punishment for Haruo."**

 **"It seems somewhat…harsh for Haruo, considering the de-, I mean, _Uzumaki-san_ was not harmed." an elderly councilman remarked carelessly, "Should we not move for leniency?"**

Ino turned her head robotically to Naruto and spoke with the most serious voice anyone has ever heard from her "Naruto. Add the Yamanaka Elders to that prank list."

Apparently Inoichi over in his brother's section had the same serious expression, Yuki mused to himself.

 **Ino slammed her hand down and glared at the man. "Are you even _listening_ to yourself?! He blew up Naruko's _entire building_ to try to kill her!" she shouted at the man, "He used his fellow shinobi as _tools_ to try and kill a _baby_! He used a Katon Jutsu that would have killed _me_ if Naruko-chan hadn't forcibly moved me out of the way just before he used it!"**

 **Pausing for breath, Ino saw that the man was gaping at her in astonishment, as were a few of his peers who were of similar age to him.**

 **"On the _purely_ political side, leaving the moral side be completely, the Yamanaka Clan _cannot_ be seen to apparently shield a criminal like Haruo, especially since the target of Haruo's actions is a girl the Sandaime Hokage regards as his _surrogate granddaughter_!" Ino continued more calmly, "Besides, if we try and shield him and _fail_ , it creates a precedent for the sitting Hokage to interfere in Clan business, which I doubt anyone here likes the idea of."**

 **Indeed the council seemed outraged at the very thought. Inoichi hid a smile at Ino's deft manipulation of the council. By turning it into a matter of politics, they had no choice _but_ to comply with the orders of the Hokage on this matter, unless they wanted to open a can of worms the Clans of Konoha had spent the last hundred or so years _keeping_ unopened: direct interference in Clan matters by the Village ruler.**

 **"I think my Heir has put it fairly succinctly." Inoichi said, pride evident in his voice, making Ino blush slightly.**

Ino preened like a peacock at that.

 **"I feel that if Hokage-sama sees the Yamanaka Clan endorsing this punishment of one of its members, especially one so close to the Clan head in relation, he will be far less likely to keep an eye on our clansmen and women via subtle ANBU monitoring for instances of other conspiracies, not that any exist."**

 **Nods of agreement emerged from the council with unsurprising alacrity. The last Clan to be monitored by the ANBU had been the Uchiha just prior to their destruction at the hands of their best ninja. The last thing any Clan needed was that kind of stigma hanging over them.**

 **"So then, I'll have a form endorsing this punishment of Yamanaka Haruo written up for this council to sign and seal." Inoichi said firmly. His face was neutral, but he was dancing inside. In one stroke, the council was endorsing the punishment of one of their own and Ino had proven herself as a competent and canny politician.**

 **Life was good.**

* * *

 **Unknown Location, Konoha**

 **In the dimly lit office, a single man was busy wrestling through paperwork. The man had shaggy black hair, a cross-shaped scar on his chin and had one eye covered in bandages. One of his arms was in a sling and he wore a formal black kimono and white under-kimono.**

 **His name was Shimura Danzō.**

 ** _'That old_ fool _Hiruzen.'_ he thought bitterly, _'If he gave the Jinchūriki to me, Konoha's future would be a bright one where it would_ truly _be the strongest of the Hidden Villages in fact as well as name.'_**

 **He grunted with exasperation at his old teammate. If only he had spoken up when Tobirama-sensei had asked for a volunteer to hold the Kinkaku Butai (Golden-Horn Force) at bay while the rest had fled, _he_ would have been appointed as the Sandaime Hokage instead of Hiruzen.**

 **He mentally cursed his own fear of death that had paralyzed him. After that, Danzō had determined that shinobi had no need of emotions and had created the division of ANBU known as Ne (Root/Foundation) which was made up of specially trained shinobi who had had their emotions crushed and ground into non-existence by a gruelling training regime.**

 **He gradually became known as the 'Yami no Shinobi' (Dark Shinobi) because of his willingness to do anything to accomplish his own goals. Danzō did not really care. He loved Konoha with all of his being, so a few sacrifices here and there and the sullying of his own good name was a small price to pay to ensure Konoha's prosperity as far as he was concerned.**

 **After all, you can't make Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette) without breaking a few eggs, right?**

 **He was drawn from his thoughts by the almost silent appearance of one of his Ne Agents.**

 **"Report." he commanded, not even looking up from his paperwork at the kneeling figure.**

 **"The three who assaulted the Jinchūriki are being punished severely for their actions." The Agent reported in a monotone, "The ringleader is to be sent to the Blood Prison, the Hyūga is basically going to work gratis for the next ten years and the Inuzuka…is being 'retrained'."**

 **Danzō shuddered slightly and felt an almost unperceivable flicker of pity for the Inuzuka shinobi. 'Retraining' was the worst punishment in the Inuzuka Clan barring banishment and involved Clan-wide humiliation and submission of the re-trainee to almost everyone in the Clan. Worst of all, you had to earn the right to act as a human back, judged by the Clan Head personally.**

 **And Inuzuka Tsume was a brass-clad bitch to please at the best of times. When she's as pissed at someone as Danzō knew she would be at one Inuzuka Shippo, his life would be intolerable for at _least_ six months.**

 **If she was feeling forgiving.**

Kiba shivered as he heard that. Yeah, his mom was scary as all hell when she was angry... or it was that time of the month...

 **"Is there any sign that they suspect an…outside influence to Yamanaka Haruo's actions?" Danzō asked.**

 **"None. Neither Morino Ibiki nor Yamanaka Inoichi have made reference to anything either in writing or verbally." The Agent replied, making the old warhawk relax ever so slightly in his chair. His use of _Kotoamatsukami_ (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) on the Yamanaka had gone unnoticed, it would seem.**

Sasuke perked up, he had heard that technique before "What is that?"

Yuki thought for a second "The _Kotoamatsukami_ is a _Mangekyo Sharingan_ technique unique to the _Sharingan_ of Shisui Uchiha. It is a genjutsu that allows the user to rewrite memories of the target into acting how you want them to, and to themselves its as if nothing has happened, making it the strongest genjutsu. The problem is that Danzo found out about it and wanted it for himself... and you know how that turned out."

 **"And the Jinchūriki?"**

 **"Currently undergoing remedial seduction training at her new Clan Compound with Tokujō Mitarashi." was the unexpected reply.**

 **Danzō frowned. This was an unexpected wrinkle. "Was an actual mission issued or did the Mitarashi woman seduce the Jinchūriki?"**

 **"A mission was issued midday the day before yesterday by the Third Hokage himself." replied the Agent.**

 **"Why was I not informed?" Danzō demanded irritably. This was _not_ what he had planned to happen when he had set out to isolate the girl!**

 **"You were embedded in a meeting with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu on the day itself." the Agent said tonelessly, "Yesterday, you were inspecting one of Ne's backup bases. This morning, you instructed Torune and Fū not to let anyone disturb you. I have only just been able to get in to speak with you."**

 **Despite the agent's emotion-suppressing training, Danzō definitely detected some mild irritation in his voice. Evidently the leader of Ne's recently busy schedule had been playing havoc with this particular agent's ability to report to him.**

 **"I see." Danzō said, "In future, should I be unavailable to report to in person and the report is urgent, leave a message with the on duty agent to inform me ASAP."**

 **"Hai, Danzō-sama." The Agent replied.**

 **"Has there been any luck in subverting the boundary seals on the old Toji Clan estate?" Danzō continued.**

 **"Regrettably no. The Toji Clan was small when it was inducted into Konoha ninety years ago and, from what I can glean of the original agent's notes from fifty years ago, he deemed them a Clan with little power or influence and thus assigned them a low priority on the seal boundary subversion, which means it had not even been begun until the Jinchūriki moved in." the Agent replied, "Unfortunately, progress has been even slower than expected, due to the Jinchūriki having random patrols around the perimeter with her Shadow Clones. The agents assigned the task of subverting the boundary seals have been…less than enthusiastic about their chances of successfully subverting the seals in any less than six months at current."**

 **Danzō suppressed a growl at this. "Have them expedite. I want to be able to infiltrate Ne Agents into the main manor in three months. Am I understood?"**

 **"Hai Danzō-sama." The Agent replied tonelessly.**

 **"Good. Leave me now." Danzō said dismissively. The Agent vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the crippled man to his pondering.**

 ** _'Orochimaru plans to attack Konoha in about four months' time.'_ Danzō considered his plan seriously, _'Thus far, Hiruzen has shown no signs that he is aware that Otogakure is in fact under the control of his ex-student. If I can have the seals subverted fully by then, I can have my Agents infiltrate the manor and steal the Uzushiogakure Archives under the cover of the invasion, which will fail. Hiruzen is many things but he is not weak, nor has Konoha's strength deteriorated so much that even Suna and Oto working together can defeat the full might of its military might._**

 ** _Ultimately, it matters not who wins in the short term, because in the long term, the true victor…shall be me.'_**

 **A sinister smile appeared on the old warhawk's face as he continued to scheme and plan in the flickering light of his office.**

Yuki spoke up with a stern voice, one that was echoed by his siblings "Don't worry, me and my siblings will work together on eliminating Danzō before you guys go back." to which Yuki smirked out a "Should be easy enough."

* * *

 **Some Time later**

 **Konoha Streets**

 **Ino was walking down the street towards her favourite clothes shop. She had been given the rest of the day off by her father as a reward for both her hard work during the morning and her exemplary performance during the council meeting.**

 **The blond-haired kunoichi hummed to herself as she window shopped at some of the clothes shops that she frequented. Ino loved shopping, especially clothes shopping. She had dozens of dresses, shoes, skirts, blouses and the like. Not to mention some very racy underwear that would give any boy (and a few girls) a nosebleed to see her wearing them.**

 **Distracted by thoughts of seducing her Sasuke-kun, she bumped into a familiar red-clad figure.**

 **"Forehead?" Ino asked once she recovered from her surprise, "What's up? You look awful."**

 **It was true. Sakura's face was drawn and tired, with small hints of bags beneath her eyes. Her red battle dress was slightly unkempt, with wrinkles and tears in it.**

 **"I-Ino-pig?" Sakura asked faintly as she peered at her friend/rival blearily. Ino was becoming worried here. Sakura's voice was slightly slurred with tiredness, which was unlike her old friend. Sakura loved to lie in and sleep, so her being so tired made no sense.**

 **"Sakura, what's up?" Ino demanded as she led a stumbling Sakura to a nearby café and plopped the pinkette in a chair before slipping into one opposite her.**

 **"N-Nothing." Sakura lied unconvincingly. Ino just looked at her with a hard glint in her eyes, making the pinkette wilt slightly.**

 **"Spill. Now." Ino ordered.**

 **"I…Oh Ino!" Sakura let out a dry sob, "Sasuke-kun and Kiba have been making me do all of the housework! All of it! They don't do a thing around the house and blame me if anything falls behind!"**

The two listed males were glared at by everyone while Naruto was busy trying to comfort Sakura.

 **Ino gaped at her friend in shock. "But…Kiba I would understand, but _Sasuke-kun_?" she said in disbelief.**

 **"Well…he doesn't sneer at me like Kiba does, but he doesn't do anything either." Sakura replied as she slumped slightly in her seat.**

 **"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you look like you got stampeded by a herd of sheep." Ino probed.**

 **"Kiba keeps trying to sneak into my room every night." Sakura said softly, "He just won't get it through his head that I'm not an Inuzuka and thus not impressed by the fact that he's an 'Alpha' in his pack. Thankfully, I have a strong locking seal on my door that Kiba can't break through. Akamaru won't help him, so unless he seriously ups his strength, he won't be getting in. I'm too scared to sleep though."**

The glares and killing intent shot up.

Kiba peed himself a little.

 **"Forehead, tell your Jonin-sensei!" Ino told her friend worriedly, "What Kiba is doing is blatant sexual harassment! You can't let him get away with it!"**

 **"Ha!" Sakura snorted, "Kakashi-sensei blatantly told us when we moved in that it was up to us to sort out our problems ourselves and not to run to him for every little squabble we had."**

 **"I think this counts as something slightly more than 'a little squabble', Sakura." Ino replied dryly, "This is Kiba deliberately trying to force entry into your room to do who knows what to you. Naruko-chan has been worried about you, y'know."**

 **Sakura looked taken aback. "She has? Since when?"**

 **"Since you were made ASL." Ino replied as she looked her friend up and down with a slight frown, "What else have you been doing? There's no way that's everything that's been happening."**

 **"I've not been getting much in the way of training recently." Sakura admitted, "So I've been doing a bit of training by myself at Training Field 7. Unfortunately, I fell down quite a bit and, well, you see what happened. Guess my lack of sleep caught up with me."**

 **Ino sat and looked at her friend for a moment before making a decision.**

 **"Right, let's get you to my house. You look dead on your feet and I think a nice relaxing bath followed by some shuteye will do you the world of good." She announced to her startled companion with a cheerful smile as she stood and dragged Sakura off to her house.**

 ** _'And then I'm gonna tell daddy about what Kiba-baka has been trying to do to you.'_ Ino thought with a vicious grin.**

 **No-one messed with Yamanaka Ino's friends. NO-ONE!**

Ino had the same look on her face.

Now the wet spot on Kiba's pants grew.

 **Elsewhere, Kiba shuddered as he felt evil intent being directed towards him.**

* * *

"And that ends that chapter..." Yuki was bombarded by Kiba, who was grovelling at his feet to hurry up with the next chapter and that his life was endangered and other dramatics.

Yuki sighed and opened the book back up. "Next Chapter: Kiba In the Doghouse…"

Kiba was whimpering, that did not sound good...


	11. Ch 10: Kiba in the Doghouse

Yuki sighed once everyone got settled in, he'd have to introduce Kiba to some of the racier anime that exist to make it up to the poor boy if this keeps up... " **Chapter 10: Kiba in the Doghouse** "

 **Two Hours Later**

 **Inuzuka Tsume's Living Room, Inuzuka Compound, Clan Residential District Outskirts**

 **If a word could be used to describe Inuzuka Tsume at this particular moment, 'furious' would be an understatement. 'Incandescent' or perhaps 'Volcanic' would be _far_ more appropriate.**

Kiba was getting paler and paler by the second. He _knew_ not to get anywhere near his mother when she got like that, or it was her time of the month.

Given the woman's temper, it was the same thing either way.

 **That good-for-nothing _idiot_ Shippo had brought disgrace on the entire Inuzuka Clan by joining with Yamanaka Haruo and Hyūga Arashi to try and kill Uzumaki Naruko.**

 **Not only had he been stupid enough to do _that_ , he had also agreed privately with Haruo to kill the other two Heiresses as well, as he was even more dismissive of Kunoichi than Kiba was, if it was at all possible.**

Looks like some of the girls, when not trying to comfort Naruto, were attempting to reach Tsume's level of apocalyptic.

 **Tsume growled angrily. The dumb idiot was so stupid that he hadn't thought of what would happen _after_ he killed them. The Hyūga, Yamanaka and the Hokage would have torn him to pieces, along with any member of the Inuzuka Clan who got in the way.**

 ** _How_ Shippo had even managed to get promoted to a Combat Chunin was beyond Tsume. He made _Kiba_ look like a paragon of tolerance and foresight!**

"Given how dumb, ignorant, or oblivious Kiba is usually portrayed, that's saying something..." The others heard Yuki mutter.

 **"Still angry about Shippo?" asked her ninken partner Kuromaru, who was lying down next to her.**

Trying to distract the girls that surrounded him from the anger that may go off with him in the middle, Naruto turned to Kiba "Think Akamaru can learn to talk like that?"

Kiba was thankful for the distraction. "That's what I'm hoping. It'll take some practice when Akamaru gets older." Akamaru barked in agreement.

 **"Obviously." Tsume snorted, "I'm just struck dumb by how _stupidly_ he went about it. Leaving all the moral right/wrong debates of trying to kill an _allied Clan_ 's Heir to one side, he got played like a fiddle by Yamanaka Haruo and Hyūga Arashi and danced to their tune with barely even any suspicion at _all_ on his part!"**

 **"Humph." Kuromaru snorted as he stretched, "Kiiromaru was telling me last week that Shippo was going to do something stupid. Wouldn't tell me what, just that he wouldn't help Shippo do whatever it is that he was gonna do."**

 **"Shippo's ninken?" Tsume asked with a frown, "Why didn't you tell me?"**

 **"You were at the council meeting on the day, and Shippo disappeared the day after." Kuromaru replied simply.**

 **Tsume was about to answer, when one of the compound's Front Gate guards shouted out, "Tsume-sama! Yamanaka Inoichi-sama wishes to have a meeting with you!"**

Ino's vindictive grin was starting to scare Kiba.

 **This took Tsume slightly aback. Inoichi was an old drinking buddy of hers and came by for a visit every so often. He usually just walked in after saying hello to the guards. The fact that he was _asking_ to be let in and have a meeting meant he had something serious to discuss with her.**

 **"…Shit." she muttered, " _Now_ what? LET HIM IN!" she roared to the guards.**

 **Tsume took a seat on a comfortable armchair and waited for Inoichi to come in. She didn't have to wait long.**

 **Inoichi swept into the room she was in, his face set like it was carved from stone. Tsume wondered what the hell this could be about.**

 **"Inoichi." she greeted the Yamanaka Clan Head warily.**

 **"Tsume. Kuromaru." he replied tersely.**

 **"Have a seat and tell me why the hell you look like you want to rip someone to pieces." The Inuzuka Matriarch said waving at a nearby chair.**

 **"Bring Hana here. She needs to know this as well." the blond man said flatly.**

If Kiba was pale before, he was bone white now. His sister may have more patience on a bad day than their mother ever did, but when she got angry; her temper was as explosive as their mother's.

 **Tsume looked surprised, but sent Kuromaru to get Hana, who arrived a couple of minutes later with the Haimaru Brothers, three ash-grey littermates, at her heels.**

Yuki surprised everyone by barking a question to Akamaru, who barked back the dog equivalent of a shrug. Kiba thought on the question and was drawing a blank. He'd have to ask Kuromaru and the triplets later.

How _do_ they feel being males that transform into women when using the Man-Beast Clone technique?

 **"Mother? Kuromaru said you wanted to see me?" Hana asked as she finished putting her long brown hair into its usual ponytail. Today had been her day off, so she had been reading some advanced Iryō Ninjutsu scrolls and occasionally romping and playing with her ninken companions.**

Some of the genin turned to look at Kiba, who informed them, "Sis is the head veterinarian for Konoha when it comes to ninken, which makes her a really good medic-nin on the side."

 **"Inoichi apparently has something he wants to discuss with us." Tsume replied as both Hana and Inoichi took a seat. Formal Clans like the Hyūga sneered at the informal nature of the Inuzuka Clan. They eschewed rites, pomp and uselessly fancy meeting rooms, instead preferring to have relaxed meeting in informal settings like this.**

Hinata scowled at the thought of those stuffy meetings, and the equally stuffy old goats that usually attended them... she caught her thoughts and let out a quiet 'meep' and hid her blushing face behind her hands.

 **The pack nature of their ninken companions influenced this choice, but the main reason was simply that the Inuzuka were a very informal clan who didn't give a rat's arse about formality.**

 **"Now we're all here, can you please tell me what's gotten you in such a bad mood?" Tsume probed impatiently.**

 **Inoichi sighed heavily before beginning. "A couple of hours ago, Ino brought Haruno Sakura to my house, bathed her and put her to bed in her old room. The poor girl went out like a light. Ino then proceeded to tell me why."**

 **His face darkened even more as he spoke his next words. "Apparently, she has been forced to perform every single household chore in her team's house for the last week by her teammates. She has also been too frightened to do more than nap lightly during the nights, because _your son_ ," Inoichi emphasised, "tries to break into her room every single night to 'establish his dominance as an Alpha' over her."**

 **Tsume and Hana stare dumbly at Inoichi, utterly stunned by what he said.**

 **"K-Kiba…no, I don't believe even _he_ could be stupid enough to do that." Tsume said at last.**

 **"I scanned Sakura's memories." Inoichi replied softly, "She spoke the absolute truth. In fact, she neglected to tell Ino that Kiba has been constantly referring to her as a 'breeder bitch' when not around their Jonin-sensei. Among other things."**

Kiba was torn between being in pale fear and burning rage as his other's actions.

 **Hana growled at the blatant disrespect such a title implied to Sakura, swiftly joined by Tsume.**

 **"I can't believe that two members of my clan are embarrassing me twice in two weeks!" Tsume ground out.**

 **"I…personally think there is something amiss with Kiba." Inoichi said carefully, prompting the two Inuzuka to look at him.**

 **"You mean _aside_ from the fact he treats kunoichi like trash?" the Inuzuka Matriarch asked sarcastically.**

 **"No, the way in which he expresses it." Inoichi replied, "A boy who has a strong kunoichi for a mother should know better than to mouth off about his contempt for them, especially in front of the Hokage! Even more so when his older sister is also a strong kunoichi."**

 **Hana's eyes were narrowed. "You suspect someone's been messing with his head?" she asked sharply.**

 **"Haruo is a very skilled jonin, who has mastered several advanced Yamanaka Clan Jutsu." Inoichi said carefully, "In addition, he has had access to the Yamanaka Shadow Archives, where we keep our kinjutsu. To clarify, by 'Kinjutsu', I don't mean just any jutsu with a slight risk, such as the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. _These_ jutsu have been forbidden to be used by our Clan due to the immoral and potentially fatal nature of the Jutsu in question."**

 **"How many Kinjutsu in the Yamanaka Clan repertoire could accomplish this?" Tsume asked.**

 **"Right off the top of my head, about half a dozen." Inoichi replied, "It would make sense if Shippo is as misogynistic as you say he is. He resents the fact that a woman is the Alpha of his Clan and makes a deal with Haruo to use a jutsu of some sort on Kiba that makes him equally as misogynistic as Shippo himself as petty revenge for that fact."**

 **"When does Haruo get shipped to Hōzuki-jō?" Tsume asked, "I want to find out what the hell he did to my pup."**

 **"Tomorrow, supposedly." Inoichi replied, "However, I think that this little deduction requires an in-depth probe into Haruo's mind, so Hokage-sama ought to listen to the both of us if we lay this in front of him. Is Shippo secure?"**

 **"He's in the kennels." Tsume replied, "I'll post a couple of guards to make sure he stays there."**

 **"Good. Let's go." Inoichi said as he led the way out of the compound.**

 **That conversation got Ino off of Kiba's back at least, now he was fearful for his other for a different reason.**

* * *

 **Warning! Lime Scene Bellow!**

Sakura tentatively raised her hand, "Um... what is a lime? I know it's a tropical fruit, but that shouldn't get a warning..."

Yuki looked at her and smirked ever so slightly, 'ever the learner...' "In food, flavour-wise, Limes are often paired with Lemons. In literature, a Lemon is used to refer to a sex scene, so the paired Lime would be something similar. A Lime is a scene that involved making out, groping, foreplay, and when pushing the line between the two, oral sex."

Ok, Yuki was really enjoying the heavy blushes of everyone there.

 **The Next Day, 06:00 am**

 **Naruko's Room, New Uzumaki Clan Compound, Clan Residential District**

 **Mitarashi Anko had taken many lovers since attaining her hitai-ate, both male and female, but this was one of the very few times that she had woken up next to one.**

 **She propped herself up on an elbow, heedless of her nudity, and gazed upon her newest lover with speculation in her eyes. Naruko was still exhausted from her amatory adventures yesterday and last night, so was in a deep sleep.**

 **After their initial 'training session', the two had slept for a couple of hours before recommencing with undisguised enthusiasm. During that time, Anko had been impressed with both Naruko's ability to learn and her stamina.**

 **Seriously, the girl could out screw a _dozen_ other genin.**

Yuki smirked and said teasingly "Well it seems at least _that_ carried over."

Kiba didn't last long after that before he passed out via nosebleed.

Yuki was wondering if he should start stocking up on blood pills if these nosebleed knockouts were going to keep happening. He didn't want any of them to die after all.

Then who would keep him amused?

 **At the same time.**

And down goes some more of the boys and all of the girls, leaving Naruto a blushing mess in the middle of a pile of blood and arousal that surrounded him.

After removing the blood via powers and waiting for everyone to recover enough, Yuki returned to reading.

 **Something else that Anko had discovered was that Naruko, while being a switch, preferred to be in control of sex when at all possible. Not really a big surprise, given that she had not had much say over what happened in her life up until this point.**

 **Deciding that her paramour had slept enough for the moment, Anko began prodding and poking Naruko, who grumbled and flinched away from the prodding.**

 **Grinning wickedly, Anko prodded the girl in her most precious place.**

 **" _Ahn!_ " Naruko shot awake with a moan.**

Aaaand Kiba was down again after hearing that rather sexy moan.

 **The Uzumaki Heiress twisted her head to look at Anko out of the corner of her eye.**

 **"Anko-sensei, did you _have_ to wake me up like that?" the girl complained as Anko withdrew the finger and sucked on it seductively.**

 **"Why, not up for another round, Naru-chan?" Anko teased her lover with a slow smile.**

 **Naruko's face lit up like a tomato. "G-Geez! Are you insatiable or something Anko-sensei?"**

 **"Meh, it's not often I have a nubile little thing like you, with stamina that surpasses mine _and_ is an eager pupil to boot." Anko replied as she reached forward and kissed Naruko's neck, making the blond mew in pleasure.**

 **"Wh-What about jutsu training? You said we'd do some today!" Naruko panted out while Anko's skilled hands wandered over her body.**

 **Anko considered this. She had said that she would teach her a couple of jutsu today, both regular jutsu and Injutsu, but she still wanted to play some more before Kurenai and Naruko's teammates returned.**

 **"Okay then, Naru-chan." Anko agreed reluctantly, "Breakfast, Jutsu training, Injutsu training, then back to bed for some fun. Sound like a plan?"**

 **"Yeeeeessss!" Naruko moaned out as Anko's hands, apparently on autopilot, had been massaging her breasts to the point that she came.**

 _'This is going to be a repeat of the beginning of Naruko's Injutsu training at this rate'_ Yuki though as he gazed as the now unconscious genin... again...

 **"Ah, that never gets old." Anko grinned at the panting girl. As it turned out, Naruko's breasts were very sensitive and Anko had made the girl beg for more after a thirty-minute massaging fest.**

 **"Sadist!" Naruko gasped out.**

 **"And proud of it!" Anko replied with a grin as she got out of bed and sashayed over to the shower, "Join me?" Anko invited.**

 **A blushing Naruko joined her in a flash.**

 **Lime Scene over!**

Yuki let out an internal sigh, repeatedly having to clean up all that blood was troublesome, ignoring Shikamaru's sneeze when he thought that.

* * *

 **Three Hours Later**

 **Interrogation Room 3, ANBU T &I Division Headquarters, Secret Location**

 **Yamanaka Haruo had clearly seen better days. He was strapped to a cross, naked from the waist up and his body was covered in scars, the result of bare minimum healing after his interrogation session with Mitarashi Anko.**

 **The room was bare of all other furniture and was a stark white colour that was slightly painful to look at even in the dim lighting that was available in the room.**

 **Haruo looked up as the door to the room opened with an ominous creak, one Haruo was convinced was deliberately induced to add to the mystique of the room and make the occupants fears grow. Not that realizing what the trick was enabled Haruo to be unaffected by it.**

 **Through the door stepped Morino Ibiki, Head of ANBU T &I and one of the most feared men in all of Konoha, swiftly followed by Yamanaka Inoichi, joint-second in command of ANBU T&I with Mitarashi Anko and his Clan head.**

 **Haruo squashed whatever fear managed to squirm its way to the surface and awaited whatever it was that brought the men to visit him.**

 **"Haruo, formally of the Yamanaka Clan," Ibiki said slowly, in his deep gravelly voice, "It has been brought to the attention of Inoichi and myself that you may have used a Kinjutsu on the mind of Inuzuka Kiba, Clan Heir of the Inuzuka Clan. I will give you one chance to voluntarily surrender the information. Should you refuse…"**

The implied threat made a lot of people pale, the genin were not used to watching torture and hoped that they wouldn't have to watch it happen.

 **The cruel, sadistic smile that blossomed across the man's face made the alternative quite clear to Haruo, who let out a dry laugh.**

 **"I'm being sent to the kami-forsaken _Blood Prison_ soon." he rasped out, "Why would I willingly let you add more time to my sentence?"**

 **Ibiki's sinister smile grew wider, if that was at all possible. "I was hoping that you'd say something like that." the Head of T &I said, somewhat happily, "I'll have you spilling your guts in ten minutes, tops. Best part for you? All the damage will be mental, not physical. No need to clean up any pesky bloodstains or have to worry about you bleeding out.**

 **Anko and I argue about this all the time, physical pain versus mental torment, and this will be interesting to note that it took Anko just under twelve minutes to fully break you. She'll owe me a drink if I can get you to break faster than that."**

 **Haruo began to sweat as Ibiki walked closer to him. "So then…" Ibiki said, "Shall we begin?"**

 **Nine Minutes, Twenty-Seven Second Later…**

Yuki could already hear Anko complaining about Ibiki beating her time.

 **"Alright! I'll tell you! Just stop already!" Haruo howled as he thrashed around wildly on the cross, desperately trying to free himself.**

 **Ibiki gave a small smile of satisfaction as he turned off the speakers that were booming out a high-pitched wailing noise. One that was enhanced by the genjutsu he had placed on Haruo. _Genjutsu: Onpa Zōfuku no Jutsu_ (Illusion: Sound Wave Amplification Jutsu) made the target's hearing as sensitive as an Inuzuka. Haruo, being a jonin, already had sharp senses, so adding the genjutsu on top of that made it unbearable. This was after Ibiki told him what would happen to him after he passed the ten-minute limit.**

 **"Now spill. What Kinjutsu did you use on Inuzuka Kiba?" Ibiki demanded softly.**

 **" _Y-Yamanaka Kinjutsu: Shinkaishin no Jutsu_ (Yamanaka Forbidden Jutsu: Mind Body Reformation Jutsu)." Haruo gasped out, "As well as repeated uses of _Yamanaka Ninpō: Shindo Sōsa no Jutsu_ (Yamanaka Ninja Art: Mind Anger Manipulation Jutsu) and _Yamanaka Ninpō: Kyōhaku Senshin no Jutsu_ (Yamanaka Ninja Art: Obsessive Undivided Mind Jutsu)."**

Ino went stark white, just hearing the names of those jutsu brought fear into her mind of what they could do, as well as a bit of disgust that those jutsu might actually exist.

 **Inoichi cursed. That was one of the worst Kinjutsu in the Shadow Archive, allowing the user to alter all but the deepest held convictions of the target as they pleased. A boy such as Kiba didn't _have_ that many strong convictions, so Haruo had pretty much had free rein to do as he pleased in his mind.**

If it wasn't the blood loss from the citrus scenes or the anger at Naruto/Naruko's treatment, it was the white faces of fear with this group...

 **The other two jutsu were commonly used in manipulating targets into becoming angry at specific things or people and straight lined their thinking respectively, so they were easily reversed. The Kinjutsu though, would be harder.**

 **"When did you do this to him?" Inoichi ground out.**

 **"Six years ago. It was Shippo's price for joining up with us." Haruo told his former Clan Head wearily.**

 **"Precisely what did you do to him? Give me every detail." Inoichi ordered harshly.**

 **"I made him aggressive and contempt of kunoichi and tried to focus that on the Demon Bitch." Haruo replied, "He is also much easier to manipulate and less trusting of those around him. I also implanted the desire to dominate woman in his mind, so any member of his Clan that he marries will be broken to his will."**

 **Inoichi regarded his former clansman with contempt. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he said disgustedly, "OK then. Did you place any mental traps or suicide jutsu in Kiba's mind?"**

 **"Several standard mental traps, but no suicide jutsu." Haruo said resignedly.**

 **"He's lying." Ibiki said casually, making Haruo glare half-heartedly at him.**

 **"The truth. Now." Inoichi's face was implacable.**

 **Haruo sagged in his bonds. "A _Nōshi Keppū_ (Brain Death Blood Seal) is set to activate if the two lesser jutsu are released before the greater one is countered." he said bitterly, "In addition, if there is any delay greater than five minutes between releasing the first jutsu and releasing the second, the Fūjin will activate."**

 **Inoichi shook his head in amazement. Death Seals were an immensely difficult thing to construct in a person's mind, far more so than if it was being written on a person's body with chakra-infused ink. That Haruo actually had the skill to create one was amazing…and a pity.**

Kiba had passed out, either from the shock that his other may die, or from the lack of blood flowing to his head was left to be seen.

 **"You are a fool, Haruo." Inoichi told him, "You could have used your skills for the betterment of Konoha. Instead, you're forcing Konoha to squander it by sending you to Hōzuki-jō, because of a ridiculous and pointless vendetta. Such a waste."**

 **With that, Inoichi swept out of the room, leaving Haruo feeling more insignificant than he had felt in years.**

* * *

 **1 Hour Later**

Grounds, New Uzumaki Clan Compound, Clan Residential District

 **" _Katon: Endan_!" a hundred voices said at one. The line of Naruko-clones unleashed a fireball at their targets, a hundred clones _Henge'd_ into Mizuki.**

Sasuke glared at the screen, looks like he had a new target to paint on the training posts back home instead of the Itachi one he had before.

 **Anko and the original Naruko, standing to one side and observing her clones work, grinned as about half of the Mizuki's disappeared. Unfortunately, that also meant that about half of the Naruko-clones disappeared as well, due to incorrectly using the Jutsu somehow.**

 **"Alright, dispel in small groups!" Naruko ordered her clone army. As they dispelled, she turned and grinned up at Anko.**

 **"Now _this_ is how to train!" she beamed up at her sensei.**

 **"Yep" Anko agreed, "No risk of being hit by the backlash of your own jutsu, just the memories of it. AND by using the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ like this, you're gradually getting better at commanding your clones. Gotta ask though: why'd you want to learn a Katon jutsu? It's not one of your elements."**

Naruto was curious as well, and a little excited since he knew that jutsu was getting added to the list of the techniques he'd be getting by the time this was over.

 **Naruko shrugged. "Ji-chan's proof that with enough hard work; a person can master elements that they weren't born with. Besides, I have so much chakra that I don't have to worry about using it all up too fast like most genin or chunin has to worry about. Plus, having a couple of wildcard jutsu is perfect for keeping any enemies off guard about my skills."**

 **Anko regarded her student with an appraising look in her eyes. "Surprisingly well thought out there, brat." she noted.**

 **"It occurred to me after Haruo-teme almost barbecued me." Naruko replied as the last of her clones dispersed themselves, "I'm planning on learning a Doton jutsu as well. Maybe a Raiton as well."**

Naruto was deep in thought, he'd sneak in to the jutsu library when he got back and look for any jutsu that he could use, preferably ones that only got stronger when you add more chakra to them.

 **"First things first, try to use _Endan_ without blowing yourself up." Anko directed her.**

 **"Hai, sensei." replied Naruko as she created another shadow clone that ran opposite her and henge'd into Mizuki.**

 **Anko sweatdropped somewhat. _'Gaki really has a grudge against the silver haired bastard.'_ she noted with a mental shrug. She couldn't really complain, what with her vendetta against her traitorous bastard of a sensei.**

 **Naruko ran through the six handsigns for the jutsu and said, " _Katon: Endan_!"**

 **A fireball erupted from her mouth and smashed into the Mizuki-clone, dispelling it.**

 **"Nicely done brat." Anko grinned, "Now do it nine more times and we'll say you've completed it satisfactorily…for now."**

 **Grumbling, Naruko made nine more shadow clones, which transformed into Mizuki, and proceeded to hit each of them with a full-powered _Endan_ each.**

 **"Not bad, brat." Anko said appreciatively, "It ain't perfect, but that'll come with time. Congrats, you pass."**

 **Naruko grinned. "What's next?"**

 **"Hmm…how about a Doton?" Asked Anko. She made the tiger handsign.**

 **" _Doton: Doryū Taiga no Jutsu_ (Earth Style: Earth Flow River Jutsu)" she commanded. Immediately, the ground beneath Naruko turned to mud and erupted into a muddy river, pushing the younger kunoichi away with a surprised yelp.**

 **After Anko ended the technique and Naruko made her way back to her, giving her sensei the stink-eye as she did, the Snake Mistress gave her a rundown of the technique.**

 **" _Doryū Taiga_ may be a fairly weak offensive jutsu, but it is a useful one." she told her pupil, "Not only does it leave the target off balance and move them away from you, the mud can also be used as a base for other Doton ninjutsu. And it only requires a single handsign to use."**

 **"Umm…can you fix my lawn?" Naruko pointed at the mess left by Anko's _Doryū Taiga_.**

 **"Sure. _Doton: Kansō-chi no Jutsu_ (Earth Style: Dry Earth Jutsu)." Anko said and stamped on the ground. The long track of mud melted back into the ground beneath it and hardened back to its original density.**

 _'Oooh, that jutsu is going to come in handy!'_ Naruto thought, imagining what he could do with that jutsu, like setting off traps and then using the jutsu to clear his way through them just in case someone tried to use them against him.

 **"You didn't use any handsigns for that jutsu!" Naruko exclaimed.**

 **"For simple jutsu that require only a single handsign, it's relatively easy to master it to the point of not _needing_ a handsign" Anko shrugged indolently.**

Most of the genin that had jutsu like that were determined to either get it down to not needing hand seals, or down to a single seal.

 **"Huh." Naruko nodded, mentally comparing it to her mastering _Suiton: Teppōdama_ to the same point, "Fair point, but we're going to a training ground to learn Doton jutsu. I don't want to have to fix my own compound's grounds every day."**

 **"Hmm. Good point, brat. There's a training ground that is mostly bare earth, Training Ground 34." Anko said with a thoughtful frown, "Nobody really uses it nowadays, so it'll be perfect to learn this jutsu in."**

 **"Let's go then-dattebayo!" Naruko yelled enthusiastically as she legged it towards the gate. Anko followed her, grinning at the blonde's antics.**

 ** _'It's like having a mini-me!'_ she thought fondly.**

Those that heard of Anko were terrified of anyone becoming a mini-Anko. One was enough!

* * *

 **Two Hours Later**

Everyone was confused, that last line wasn't spoken by Yuki and it was in a weird accent. Yuki knew it as the voice-over guy from Spongebob Squarepants whenever there was a timeskip.

 **Yamanaka Clan Mind Delving Room, Yamanaka Clan Compound, Clan Residential District**

 **"He did WHAT to my pup?" Tsume snarled, seething at what Inoichi told her Haruo did to her son.**

 **"I know, I know, _I'm_ not happy _either_." Inoichi replied, holding his hands up defensively, "I can and will undo what has been done to him. Unfortunately, there _will_ be lingering effects."**

 **"Such as?" Tsume demanded, worry tingeing her voice.**

 **"He'll still be the same afterwards, so you'll need to train him to _not_ be misogynistic jerk. I will remove the more…distasteful…urges from him and make him open to change, but essentially, you'll have to knock him into shape." Inoichi clarified.**

 **"I was planning on doing that anyway." Tsume snorted, "Why's Kiba strapped to the table?"**

Kiba was pale again and was hoping nobody made a masochist joke at him. He was not into _bondage_!

Judging by the looks he was receiving, he realized too late that he said that last part _out loud_.

 **Indeed, Kiba was secured rather firmly to the table in the centre of the room. His ankles and wrists were bound by thick leather cuffs and a strap across his forehead kept his head facing upwards rather than lolling to one side, for the Inuzuka Heir had been sedated before being brought in.**

 **"A fair few of the mental traps that the Yamanaka Clan use involve controlling the body to attack someone." Inoichi explained, "Sort of like an in-built _Shintenshin no Jutsu_. Those straps are inscribed with powerful reinforcement seals made by the Yondaime Hokage himself, so Kiba stands no chance of breaking free. Rather, he's going to damage himself trying to break free if one of those traps is sprung, which is why I asked for Hana to be here, as she is a qualified Med-nin."**

 **Hana had been glaring at the wall ever since Inoichi's explanation of what Haruo had done to Kiba. Now she looked up, her face dark with anger. "Shippo dies for orchestrating this." she said flatly.**

 **"Hana-" Tsume starts to say, before she's cut off by her daughter.**

 **"HE DIES!" Hana snarled.**

Yuki muttered to himself "Like Mother like Daughter..."

 **"The Hokage is _very_ firm that no-one dies here." Inoichi remarked, "Perhaps sending him to the Blood Prison would be a good idea?"**

 **The two Inuzuka women considered it for a moment before saying, in unison, "Arrange it."**

"See my previous statement..."

 **"I'll tell Hokage-sama of the change in punishment after I deal with Kiba." Inoichi assured the two women.**

 **"Well, get it over with already!" Hana snapped, "I want to start kicking my otouto (little brother) back into shape!"**

 **Inoichi chuckled. "Just wait until the support machines come online."**

 **"Huh?" Hana said as she looked around the room. It was of medium size, and had a conical ceiling. Just as she was gazing at Kiba for a moment, a device rose smoothly out of the floor and settled over the young ninja's body, leaving only his head exposed.**

 **"What the hell is that thing?" The vet asked Inoichi.**

 **"The support machines." Inoichi replied, "They enhance the abilities of someone using mind delving techniques and allow other people to channel chakra in to maintain the jutsu while I use my own chakra to fix Kiba's mind up."**

"There's also one that allows a Yamanaka to dive safely into severed heads for information." Yuki stated as a picture popped up of Inoichi during the Pain Arc looking into the head of the retrieved Pain paths.

 **"Oh." Hana looked at the contraption for a moment, "It looks like a sarcophagus."**

 **"Eh, unfortunate similarity." Inoichi shrugged as he walked over and stood over Kiba's exposed head and ran through a long sequence of hand signs before placing his hand on the brown-haired head before him.**

 **"Let's get this show on the road!" he declared, " _Yamanaka Ichizoku Ninpō: Shindokushin no Jutsu_! (Yamanaka Clan Ninja Art: Mind Body Reading Jutsu!)"**

* * *

 **Kiba's Mindscape**

 **Inoichi looked around. Rather unsurprisingly, Kiba's mindscape was the Inuzuka Clan Compound, empty of both people and dogs, which was slightly eerie.**

Some of the genin agreed. Compared to what they had seen of the place, it was rather creepy seeing it so empty.

Kiba suddenly felt like he was insulted for some reason.

 **'Alright. Have to find the _Shinkaishin no Jutsu_ nexus first.' Inoichi thought and took a step forward. Immediately, the mindscape became filled with mist.**

 **" _Ninpō: Kumori Nentō no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Cloudy Mind Jutsu)?" Inoichi asked, baffled. That was the very first mind trap jutsu taught to chunin level Yamanaka Clansmen. Nobody used it as an actual mental defence anymore.**

 **Shrugging, he dispelled the jutsu, only to find himself atop the Hokage Monument.**

 **"This time it's _Ninpō: Shintenryū no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Mind Translocation Jutsu)?" Inoichi remarked, "Better, but still not up to scratch." All that did was move the intruder from the central mental construct to an outlying area of the mindscape.**

 **He made a few handsigns and used the same jutsu to propel himself back into the mental construct of the Inuzuka Compound. Inoichi frowned. These defences were, by all standards, pathetic. Any rookie Yamanaka chunin could set those two jutsu up.**

 ** _'Then again, Haruo was only promoted to jonin four years ago and this alteration was performed six years ago, so it's not a stretch to presume that he didn't know any more advanced mental defences than the standard Chunin-rank ones. Better tread carefully, just to be safe.'_ Inoichi decided.**

 **The Clan Head of the Yamanaka Clan dispelled the second trap jutsu and then used a jutsu known only to the senior members of the Yamanaka Clan that deactivated and destroyed any jutsu that used the host-mind's body to attack the intruder's real body.**

 **The sound of two noises similar to glass shattering, signalling the destruction of two jutsu of the targeted criteria, made Inoichi smile. Then the sound of a lot of rapidly approaching paws reached his ear, coming from his left.**

 **Turning his head, he saw a large pack of ninken approaching him. "Ah, _Ninpō: Shingo Sōzō no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Mind Safeguard Creation Jutsu). I was wondering what the last card he played would be. The borderline-jonin jutsu that uses imagery from the host's mind to assail and expunge the intruder. Very well played. Any average member of the Yamanaka Clan would be low on chakra and overwhelmed at this point."**

 **Swiftly forming seals, he banished the pack from existence. "Sadly for Haruo, I am not an average Clan member." he said firmly, "Now, where is that pesky nexus…"**

"Now where is that wascally wabbit?" was heard from out of nowhere, confusing the young teens. This weird space they were in just got weirder and weirder.

* * *

 **At the Same Time**

 **Training Ground 38, Konoha Outskirts**

 **Anko watched as her student and her clones practiced _Doton: Doryū Taiga_ with some success, along with _Doton: Kansō-chi_. All in all, Naruko had three hundred Shadow Clones working on the two jutsu: one hundred as targets for _Doryū Taiga_ , one hundred actually using _Doryū Taiga_ and a hundred drying up the earth afterwards with _Kansō-chi_.**

 **It was an efficient was of practicing the two jutsu and Anko gave herself a pat on the back for thinking of it.**

 ** _'Still, it's odd that she asked to learn a supplementary jutsu, rather than an attack or defence jutsu.'_ Anko mused, _'Meh, whatever. She wants to be Hokage after all, so every Jutsu she learns is another one for the required 1000 Jutsu a Hokage has to master.'_**

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at Yuki in a panic. "Don't worry, it's not actually required. In fact I think the only one to get there was the Sandaime. In fact, the Naruto that eventually became Hokage only knew a good twenty or so jutsu, and most of them were just variants of one of the others."

Sasuke was curious "Like what? Leaving out the variation techniques, what Jutsu did he know?"

Yuki thought about it for a moment. "Before I list them, you have to know that Naruto came into possession of something that gave him a good affinity with all of the elements. So there may be some that he has that Naruto as he is now can't do. Let's see...

" _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ (Substitution Jutsu) which I don't think he used much, if at all. _Henge no Jutsu_ (Transformation Jutsu) which was the basis for his _Oiroke no Jutsu_ (Sexy Jutsu). _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Jutsu) which includes the multi version and Taijutsu combos. _Rasengan_ (Spiralling Sphere) and its variants. _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ (Summoning Technique) this covers his summoned toads and toad related techniques. _Senjutsu_ (Sage Techniques) despite the fact he learned it from the toads, this encompasses most of his higher states. _Bijutsu_ (Tailed Beast Techniques) basically anything that has to do with his tenant, including Negative Emotion Sensing. _Futton: Kairiki Muso_ (Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength). And The Chakra Transfer Technique...

So that's... 9 techniques overall." Yuki finished, before returning to the book before he gets more questions.

 **"Alright brat, that's enough training on this for today." She called out.**

 **Naruko looked around at her. "But I haven't got it down yet!"**

 **"Brat, it's a Doton, you are a Futon/Suiton element." Anko told her firmly, "Just like how Hinata has problems with her _Jūken_ , you are going to find Doton troublesome to learn, same with Raiton. Besides, you've just completed the best part of a week's training with those two jutsu as it is. Dispel your clones so we can head back."**

 **Begrudgingly, Naruko complied. After the last clones dispelled, the Uzumaki Heiress trotted over to Anko.**

 **"Oh! Anko-sensei, we've got to go to Tenten-san's shop and pick up my new clothes!" she blurted out.**

 **"So we do." Anko nodded, "Tomorrow."**

 **"Eh?"**

 **"It's tomorrow that we have to pick up the clothes." Anko reminded the excitable girl patiently.**

 **"Oh. Well, I guess we should do a bit of food shopping and head back home than." Naruko said.**

 **"Yup. And when we're there, you can tell me all about that gauntlet of yours." Anko replied conversationally.**

 **Naruko stopped and looked at her sensei. "Oh?"**

 **"Uh-huh." Nai-chan was telling me it helps you with dispelling genjutsu." Anko replied, "And since you never take it off, even when doing the nasty,**

Cue minor nosebleeds among the gennin.

 **it must require constant contact to do that."**

 **"Pretty much." Naruko admitted.**

 **"Now why'd you keep such a secret from me and 'Nai-chan?" Anko actually pouted at her.**

 **Naruko sweatdropped at the sight of a pouting Tokubetsu Jonin. "All ninja have their secrets, Anko-sensei." she replied uncomfortably.**

 **"True, but how are 'Nai-chan and I supposed to teach you if you hold information on your abilities back from us?" Anko riposted, "You do need to keep secrets from people, but _not_ from your team. _Especially_ not from your sensei."**

 **"Sorry." Naruko replied, chastised.**

 **"Meh, no bother." Anko shrugged, "Fill me in when we get back to the Compound and we'll call it quits."**

 **"OK." Naruko replied as the two kunoichi walked out of the training ground.**

* * *

 **An Hour Later**

 **Inuzuka Kiba's Mindscape**

Kiba still wasn't comfortable with the thought that someone had gone through his head and done who knows what in there.

 **Inoichi grunted with effort as he tore apart the last of the mind-altering jutsu that affected Kiba's mind. They had been concealed adequately enough. The _Shinkaishin no Jutsu_ had been concealed under Kiba's bed, the _Shindo Sōsa no Jutsu_ had been at the bottom of the manure pile (and he was going to have _words_ with Haruo about that)**

That got a chuckle out of a couple of the gennin that weren't turning green at the thought.

 **and the last one, which he had just destroyed, the _Kyōhaku Senshin no Jutsu_ , had been in the dining room of all places.**

 ** _'Now, to find and deal with that Death Seal.'_ Inoichi thought grimly as he stalked around the mental world he was in, in search of his target. He had to remove it, otherwise there was a chance it could be remotely activated by a confederate of Haruo's that they had missed.**

 **The Yamanaka Clan Head entered the training area of the Compound and immediately espied the target of his search. The seal covered the centre of the field like a grotesque swollen tumour. It was a sickly black/green colour and seemed to pulse with its own life.**

Hearing it was disgusting enough, but seeing it on the screen just made those watching green... though not as green as those that stare at Lee for too long...

 **Very, very carefully, Inoichi examined the seal. It was a very powerful one and had lost its anchoring Jutsu, so it was volatile. Any hasty move on his part could set it off, doing who knows what kind of damage to the boy's brain.**

 ** _'Hmm. It's well applied.'_ Inoichi noted clinically, _'The matrix is solid enough that even without the three jutsu it was linked and anchored to, it is still stable enough not to activate without a push of some sort. Now how to get rid of it…?'_**

 **Inoichi had looked up the details of the _Nōshi Keppū_ before meeting with Tsume and Hana. The seal was elegant in its simplicity, causing the host's brain to suffer a fatal aneurysm within a few hours of activation. It was a tricky seal to place and an even trickier prospect to remove, as you had only one chance to do both.**

 **Inoichi ran through the handsign sequence that temporarily rendered the seal useless and activated it. The Seal froze and drew into itself, shrinking from the size of a horse and cart to that of a regular dog in seconds.**

 **Running forwards, Inoichi caused a mental projection of a katana to appear in his hand. Reaching the shivering seal, he stabbed his blade into the centre of it and forced all of his remaining chakra through the sword and into the seal.**

 **" _Nōshi Keppū: Mettō_! (Brain Death Blood Seal: Destroying Sword!)" He shouted. There was no way to safely release the death seal; it had to be destroyed while it was inert, it was the only way to fully excise the seal from a host.**

Both Ino and Naruto were interested in what was happening. Ino because of the new information about the mind related arts she was seeing and Naruto because of the seal work.

 **The seal unleashed a shriek of pain and attempted to expand again, but Inoichi was having none of it; he spread his chakra throughout the entire seal and forced it to obey the command he had just issued to it: die.**

 **With a final hideous wail, the seal dissolved into nothing, along with the phantasmal katana Inoichi had created to destroy it. Staggering slightly, Inoichi gasped for breath. That had been one of the strongest seals he had ever had to remove from a person's mind, and he knew that the Nōshi Keppū was nothing compared to one of the Uzumaki Clan's seals.**

Naruto filed that titbit away, he was so going to read up and learn everything he could about seals hearing that.

 ** _'Kushina would be laughing at me right now and saying something like, "What? You mean_ that _pathetic thing tired you out? Looks like you need to start picking up your training-'ttbane!"'_ Inoichi thought whimsically as he recovered from his exertion.**

Everyone snickered upon hearing that, they could easily guess where Naruto got his personality from if that was the case.

 **Straightening up, Inoichi ran through several detection jutsu, including one that only the Head of the Yamanaka Clan had access to, in order to confirm he had cleared Kiba's mind of all seals.**

 **Breathing a sigh of relief once all the results came back negative, Inoichi formed one last handsign.**

 **" _Kai!_ " He commanded, and left Kiba's mind.**

Kiba sighed in relief that all of that crap was out of his other's head, releasing the breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Tsume and Hana started as Inoichi removed his hand from Kiba's head and fell on his ass, panting and gasping as if he had run a ninja-length marathon. He reached into his pocket and shakily drew out a food pill, which he crunched and swallowed as fast as he could.**

 **"Inoichi?" Tsume knelt by her friend in concern.**

 **"Th-That seal…was the most…" Inoichi rasped out, "…difficult removal…I have _ever_ had...to do."**

 **Hana was running a diagnostic jutsu over him as he spoke and her eyes widened. "You almost ran out of chakra! Eat another food pill now!" she ordered.**

 **Chuckling hoarsely, Inoichi obeyed. Hana's expression relaxed somewhat once the second food pill started working its magic on his chakra levels.**

 **"You cut it too close, Inoichi-san." the med-nin admonished him.**

 **"Didn't have any choice." Inoichi replied hoarsely, "I only had one chance to remove the Death Seal on Kiba, so I had to risk it. He's clean now, so everything turned out alright in the end."**

 **As he spoke, the device covering Kiba's body whirred softly as it retracted into the floor again.**

 **"I think it's time for Kiba-san to wake up now and reap what he has sown." Inoichi observed with a small smile.**

Any relief Kiba may have had died when he heard that sentence.

* * *

 **Kiba's Perspective.**

 **Pain. Intense pain. Kiba reluctantly swam into painful consciousness and wished he could return to blessed, _painless_ unconsciousness. His head felt like a blacksmith's anvil and his mouth was dry as a desert at midday.**

 **He let out a groan and tried to open and eye. Pain.**

 **Okay, leave the eyes alone for now.**

That got a few snickers.

 **"Pup, can you hear me?" a familiar voice asked from nearby.**

 **"K-Kaa-san?" Kiba rasped out.**

 **"How do you feel?" she asked.**

 **"Like someone just used my head to make Mochi." Kiba replied with a wince.**

 **"Makes sense, considering you just had a Yamanaka in your head." another voice quipped from the same direction as his mother's.**

 **"Nee-san?"**

 **"Yup. And boy, are you in _trouble_ , little brother." Hana's voice said darkly.**

 **Daring to try to open an eye as a test, Kiba peered in the direction of his mother and sisters voices. A pair of scowling faces made him wish that he hadn't.**

 **"Oh crap…" Kiba muttered. He would have tried to run for it, but he was secured to the table, meaning he was trapped.**

 **Over the next ten minutes, Kiba was lambasted by the synchronised pair of Inuzuka women. His intelligence, integrity, manhood and basic common sense were called into question. At the end of the rant, he was issued with a proclamation from his Alpha mother.**

 **"You will be moving back into the Inuzuka Compound, pup, so that you can be retrained from the bottom up!" Tsume told Kiba, who went white.**

 **"R-R-R-R-Retraining?" he squeaked out.**

If Kiba had the ability to, he would have shrunk himself to the size of an ant and scurried backwards far enough to be in another dimension if his current reaction was anything to go by.

 **"Ah? Oh, no, not Retraining." Tsume reassured her son, "But we will be training you in the basic jutsu and fighting styles of the Inuzuka Clan from the bottom up, as well as stomping out your ridiculous notions that kunoichi are inferior to ninja in any way, shape or form. Understood?"**

 **"Hai, Kaa-san." Kiba said dejectedly. He had a feeling that while this wasn't actual retraining, it was going to be just as humiliating but in a different way.**

* * *

 **Same Time**

 **Training Room, New Uzumaki Clan Compound, Clan Residential District**

 **"Now that's something you don't see every day." Anko said admiringly as Naruko's Shadow Clone slowly and firmly fed the katana she had bought from Tenten's shop into En'ō Kago-te's open maw.**

 **She had been sceptical when Naruko had told her about her gauntlet's transformation ability, but she had been made a believer when Naruko demonstrated it by using her _Buki Henge: Kongōbō Jutsu_ (Weapon Transformation: Adamantine Staff Jutsu).**

 **"Yeah, though when I first put it on, it nearly gave me chakra exhaustion." Naruko replied, "Thankfully, that was a one-time thing. Now, when I pass on, anyone can wear it as long as they have jonin-level chakra."**

 **"Wait, so it can't come off?" Anko asked.**

 **"Unless I use a _Buki Henge_ , yes." Naruko said as the last of the katana was swallowed by the gauntlet with a {POP}. The mouth retracted and the rotating plates on En'ō Kago-te started to rotate with speed until it stopped at the blank plate next to the bō plate and the kanji '刀' (Katana) appeared on it.**

 **"Taking the new form for a test drive?" Anko asked.**

 **"Sure." Naruko said and made the monkey handsign, " _En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kongōgatana_! (Gauntlet of the Monkey King: Weapon Transformation: Adamantine Katana!)"**

 **In a puff of smoke, the gauntlet transformed into a black bladed Katana, with a bronze Tsuba and Tsuka with snarling monkey heads engraved into those locations.**

 **"Wow." Anko had to admit that that was one dangerous looking sword.**

A drooling Tenten agreed.

 **"Let's try it out." Naruko said thoughtfully, "Enma-sama said that adamantine is called 'the metal that cuts, but cannot _be_ cut'."**

 **The blond Kunoichi walked over and performed a basic shoulder-to-opposite-waist kesa-giri (Monk's Robe Cut) on the nearest training dummy. The wood and straw contraption was split in twain and the upper half slid off of the lower half to land on the floor with an audible thud.**

 **"I barely even put _any_ strength behind that cut." Naruko said, amazed.**

 **"Let's try cutting it then." Anko said as she drew a kunai and charged at Naruko, who eep'd in surprise and raised the Kongōgatana to block the incoming cut.**

 **{CHING!}**

 **Both kunoichi were stunned to see the kunai, made from good quality steel, bend like a soft banana when it was forced to try and cut the adamantine blade.**

 **"Wow." Anko repeated, "That is some _dense_ metal."**

"Uh-huh..." Tenten said in a daze as the drool was practically a waterfall at this point. _Must...have..._

 **Naruko nodded silently before making a half-tiger handsign. "En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kai!" she commanded, reverting the sword to its original form in another puff of smoke.**

 **"So, you can add another...ten weapons to the gauntlet?" Anko asked, "Any ideas what the next is going to be?"**

 **"A Fūma Shuriken." Naruko said at once, "Although, I'm not sure about whether to get a solid type, like the ones Mizuki-teme used, or a collapsible type."**

 **Anko frowned. "You said that the quality of the initial weapon affects the quality of the finished adamantine weapon, correct?" she asked.**

 **"That's what Enki-san said." Naruko confirmed.**

 **"Go with a solid type then." Anko advised, "The collapsible ones are generally throwaway, average quality things."**

Yuki began muttering to himself "Go with the Fūma shuriken design, the Dai Shuriken are too plain and don't give as much of an intimidation factor as the Fūma do..."

 **"Right." Naruko nodded.**

 **Just then, the door opened and an exhausted Kurenai walked in. Looking at Naruko and Anko, the Genjutsu Mistress gave them a small wave and asked, "Do you mind if I borrow a bed? I just found out that my apartment has been flooded."**

 **Naruko nodded. "The second room on the left is yours, Kurenai-sensei." she told her teacher.**

 **"Thanks Naruko-chan." Kurenai replied thankfully and trotted off to her room.**

 **"Damn." Anko muttered, "Now we'll not get any more fun in until next week!"**

 **Naruko shook her head and, standing up on her tiptoes, kissed her sensei on the cheek.**

 **"Don't worry sensei. I bought you some dango, so you can relax while you eat those." she told a surprised Anko.**

 **"Cheeky brat." Anko grumbled as she did an unusual thing for her and blushed.**

 **Naruko merely grinned in response.**

* * *

Yuki closed the book, his fingers holding the spot in the page as he looked at the kids in front of him "Now wasn't that exciting..." It was hard to tell if it was sarcastic or not "Onto the next chapter then. The Trial of Team 7"

The three who were on Team Seven in the book looked rather... well they weren't looking forward to the next chapter.


	12. Ch 11: The Trial of Team 7

The gennin stared at Yuki as he waved a knife in the air next to him for some reason.

"Umm..." Sakura was the first to speak up "What are you doing?"

Yuki smiled at them "Well they say that 'the tension's so thick you can cut it with a knife' and I wanted to try it out." This caused everyone to faceplant.

With his goal complete, Yuki opened the book to where they left off and began the next chapter. " **Chapter 11: The Trial of Team 7** "

 **A Month Later, 12.00 am**

 **Shinobi Memorial Stone, Training Field Seven, Konoha Outskirts**

 **Hatake Kakashi sighed as he feigned reading his favorite book, Icha-Icha Paradise, as he stood in front of the Memorial Stone. He was not happy about the test that was due to take place later on today.**

You could feel the disbelief in the air coming from the other groups at the though of Kakashi fake reading his favorite book series, which got a rather funny man-pout from said shinobi.

Yuki merely muttered under his breath about said test being do to his lack of teaching skills, or just lack of teaching altogether.

 ** _'They're only genin!'_ Was his main argument that he kept repeating to himself, _'they've only just began their careers as shinobi. There's plenty of time for them to become strong in the future.'_**

Yuki and his siblings spoke at the same time to their respective groups "There's a difference between plenty of time for them to learn and downright neglectful teaching. When a chuunin could teach a team better than the supposed Jounin sensei, it makes me question said Jounin's competence."

 **Kakashi knew that becoming powerful at a young age was more of a curse than a blessing. After all, hadn't he become a jonin at the age of nine? Hadn't he then lost both of his teammates and his sensei?**

"There's also a difference between war time and peace time casualties!"

 **Even now, he could see Obito's body crushed beneath that boulder and feel his arm, encased by his personal jutsu, the _Chidori_ (1000 Birds), pierce Rin's chest like a skewer.**

 **Worst of all was being forced to watch helplessly as his sensei, the Yondaime Hokage, vanish in order to sacrifice both his life, and the future of his newborn daughter, in order to defeat something no mortal should be able to defeat.**

"Why is this man even still an active ninja anyways? He's clearly too lost in his past to even be a competent citizen, much less a teacher. Why has nobody ever given him counseling?" Watching Yuki rant at the man was actually kinda awe worthy. "And you know what else I think?"

Yuki snapped his fingers. All of a sudden a song started to play, and the lyrics seemed to harden everyone's resolves to get better for the future.

 _There's a point where it tips_  
 _There's a point where it breaks_  
 _There's a point where it bends_  
 _And a point we just can't take_  
 _Anymore_

 _There's a line that we'll cross_  
 _And there's no return_  
 _There's a time and a place_  
 _No bridges left to burn_  
 _Anymore_

 _We can't just wait with lives at stake_  
 _Until they think we're ready_  
 _Our enemies are gathering_  
 _The storm is growing deadly_

 _Now its time to say goodbye_  
 _To the things we loved_  
 _And the innocence of youth_  
 _How the time seemed to fly_  
 _From our carefree lives_  
 _And the solitude and peace we always knew_ *

And to take on anything that came their way... together.

As one, the group turned back to Yuki, who had to hide his smirk behind the book _'good, they're going to need all the help they can get.'_

 **No, Kakashi was right about this. He needed to remain Team 7's Jonin-sensei. He shuddered to think what Mitarashi Anko would do to them.**

"Actually teach them..."

 **Unlike the ignorant villagers, Kakashi had nothing against the woman, in regards to her sensei's defection and abandonment of her that is.**

 **It was her ultra-sadistic, not to mention scary, attitude that was the focus of his objections to Anko. The woman wouldn't know restraint if it danced naked in front of her with a tea cozy on its head.**

That got a few blushes, much less than if they hadn't been privy to the nudity that is/was the Anko/Naruko scene.

 **She would push the kids too far and quite possibly traumatize them for life.**

You could almost hear Anko's voice stating that it "Builds character."

 **Kakashi reluctantly closed his book and stowed it in his pouch. It was almost exactly three hours after when he was supposed to meet with his team, so it was time to get going.**

"He needs an intervention." The comments of agreement were too many for Kakashi's future level of sanity.

 **Vanishing in a puff of smoke, he appeared on the bridge at the edge of the training ground. Waiting impatiently for him was his genin team. Sasuke was leaning against one of the three training stumps, arms folded across his chest and looking bored. Sakura was reading a scroll that contained a minor genjutsu he had given her the previous day, whilst Kiba was playing with Akamaru.**

 **The same as they had been for the last month.**

It was a good thing the groups were separated. Kakashi would not survive the combined glares of the genin, the other sensei, the shinobi council, and the hokage.

 **Kakashi didn't know why Kiba had been moved back to the Inuzuka Compound. When he had asked, the Hokage had merely looked at him pityingly and said that if he had done more than pay lip service to his roll as a sensei, he would know why.**

 **Kakashi mentally shrugged. The Hokage couldn't have it both ways. Either they were fully emancipated ninja who were responsible for their own problems, or they were kids who needed a firm hand.**

"Ok, this level of negligence is almost criminal..."

 **Kiba and Sakura noticed that he had arrived first.**

 **"YOU'RE LATE!" They roared at him in irritation.**

 **Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "Ah, that's because I had to help an old lady across the road and she insisted on treating me to lunch." he lied.**

 **"THAT'S A LIE AND YOU KNOW IT!" was hurtled at him with such force that he actually winced.**

Yuki was much more vocal this chapter it seems "I would have hurled more than just accusations at him... maybe a tree or twelve..."

 **"Maa, maa, calm down." Kakashi said in a pacifying manner, "We have to get going now kids."**

 **"Why Kakashi-sensei? What're we doing?" Sakura asked curiously.**

 **"Please tell me it isn't another lame-ass D-Rank mission." Kiba groused, Akamaru barking in agreement.**

 **"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts.**

 **"Nope!" Kakashi replied faux-cheerfully, "You three are going to be tested."**

 **Three almost identical deadpan looks came into appearance on his genin's faces.**

 **"""Huh, say what?""" they asked in unison.**

 **"You three are going to be tested." Kakashi repeated, "To be accurate, you will be having a match against a person of the Hokage's choice. You don't have to win, just prove that you have become stronger since graduating from the Academy."**

 **"Are the other teams going to be tested?" asked Sakura suspiciously.**

 **"Will you _look_ at the time?" Kakashi exclaimed, ignoring Sakura's question,**

The glares at Kakashi or in Kakashi's direction doubled in intensity, getting the scarecrow to sink in his seat and try to hide behind his precious.

 **"There's only five minutes before the match starts. You'd better get moving."**

 **"Gaah! Damn it all, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura snarled, "Where are we supposed to go?"**

 **"Training Field 8." Kakashi replied.**

 **"THAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF KONOHA, DAMN IT!" Kiba yelled in frustration, "There's no way we'll make it in time!"**

 **"Grab on to each other." Kakashi told them. Giving him an odd look, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm and Sasuke reluctantly grabbed Kiba's arm. Akamaru just jumped into Kiba's coat.**

 **"Alright, here we go!" Kakashi said as he grabbed both Sakura and Kiba's shoulders. The three genin and one jounin vanished in a swirl of leaves.**

 **In what seemed like a blur of motion to the three members of Team 7, they appeared in the center of Training Ground 8. After Kakashi released them, it took them a moment or two to get their bearings.**

 **Sarutobi Hiruzen stood waiting for them, as were Teams 6, 9 and 10. Team 8 was conspicuous by its absence.**

 **"Ah, Kakashi." the Hokage glanced at the silver-haired man reprovingly, "You were almost late."**

Naruto was really getting into the story, so much so that he snapped his fingers in disappointment. He was hoping they'd be late so Kakashi could get sacked.

 **"Maa, Maa, Hokage-sama, we're here now." Kakashi replied easily, "Ara? Where's the opponent for my team? And why are the other teams here?"**

 **"Yosh! In the spirit of Youth, we were invited to see your students' most Youthful Challenge, Kakashi!" Gai boomed as he made a 'nice guy' pose.**

 **Team 7, who had never seen Gai before, were goggling at the walking fashion hazard. Sakura wanted to throw up at the sight of his unbelievably bushy eyebrows, Sasuke's eye twitched and his hands were itching to form the handsigns for one of his fire style jutsu. Kiba was torn between disgust for the man's outfit and a morbid fascination of why anyone would put up with a man like that for a Jonin-sensei.**

Tenten and Neji agreed with the other Kiba.

 **"Hmm? Did you say something, Gai?" Kakashi deadpanned, making the spandex-clad man faceplant.**

This got some half-hearted chuckles from everyone. Despite their growing dislike for the silver haired jounin, Gai's reaction was rather funny.

"Yosh! its not nice making fun of Gai-sensei like that!"

Everyone turned to Lee and deadpanned at him "We're sorry, did you say something Lee?"

Lee sunk to his knees in shock as everyone returned to looking at the book.

 **Over by the sensei, Kakashi ignored Gai in favor of acknowledging a mysterious growth of pride in something. He didn't know where it came from but it was obviously more important than Gai at the moment.**

 **"Curse you Kakashi, and your hip attitude too!" Gai declared dramatically after he was standing once again.**

 **Sarutobi coughed once to attract the attention of the two jonin. "Ahem. Now, Team 8 will arrive in a few moments. I had them pick up a few things in town for me. As to the opponent you will face…" he said with a small smile.**

 **"That would be me." a loud female voice said, seemingly from all around them. Kakashi and Team 7 looked around them for the source, but couldn't see anyone other than Hayate's team, Gai's team and Asuma's team.**

 **A small tornado erupted in the centre of the field near Team 7, making Sakura shriek in surprise. Kakashi narrowed his only visible eye.**

 **'A _Kaze Shunshin_ (Wind Body Flicker)?' he thought in surprise. Most people just used the basic _Shunshin no Jutsu_ , which used a puff of chakra-smoke to disguise the user's movements. Elemental Shunshin were possible, using mist, water, fire, sand and leaves, but this was the first time he had seen pure wind used in a Shunshin.**

 **The tornado abated and cleared, revealing Uzumaki Naruko grinning at them cockily.**

 **"Ready?" she said with a slightly evil grin.**

Naruto was rubbing his hands and chuckling evilly as he turned his attention to the screen floating next to Yuki, which had begun playing the scene like a video.

* * *

 **Naruko's Perspective**

 **"Naruko?" Sakura asked in disbelief, "You are our opponent?"**

 **"And that's so hard to believe because why?" Naruko asked with narrowed eyes.**

 **Because you are the _dobe_ , dobe." Sasuke snorted, "I'm insulted that you are considered a worthy test for me."**

 **"Itoko (Cousin), you need to stop being so arrogant." Naruko said flatly.**

 **"I'm not related to you!" Sasuke snarled.**

 **"Yes you are." the Hokage interjected, "The Uchiha, Hyūga, Senju and Uzumaki are distantly related clans. Very distantly related, but the relation is acknowledged by all of them."**

This got everyone's attention, as they turned to Yuki "Very distant" Yuki nodded "The Sage of Six Paths had two sons, the eldest gave birth to the Uchiha, while the Younger gave birth to the Senju and Uzumaki clans. The Sage's brother had children that gave birth to the Hyuuga clan, as well as the Kaguya clan of the Mist village."

Yuki returned to the book/video as everyone absorbed this new tidbit.

 **"I'm…related to the _dobe_?!" Sasuke muttered incredulously, "What next?"**

 **"You get your butt kicked by me, that's what!" Naruko said confidently.**

 **"Tch. Yeah right, dobe!" Ami sneered from the sidelines.**

 **"Quiet in the peanut gallery!" Naruko shot back.**

 **"Ami, enough." Hayate remonstrated his student mildly, "Academy scores are meaningless in the real world."**

Yuki nodded "That is true, and only those stuck on such concepts after graduation either have an inferiority complex, or no skills whatsoever outside of the classroom."

 **The purple haired girl huffed, but shut up.**

 **"Gaki! What did I tell you about running off ahead of people?" Anko asked irately as she strode into the Training Field proper while carrying a plastic bag. Kurenai, Hinata and Ino soon followed.**

 **"Ehhehehe! Sorry, Anko-chan-sensei." Naruko said with a grin.**

 **"Just call me '-sensei' already!" Anko said as she rolled her eyes, "You can leave the '-chan' off completely!"**

 **"But it suits you so well, Anko-chan-sensei!" Naruko said mischievously.**

Naruto chuckled, he was debating calling Anko 'Anko-nee-sensei' after this, if he ever got the chance to learn under her.

They had a lot more in common than he first thought before this story.

 **"Grrr, that does it!" Anko shouted as she put the bag down and leapt at Naruko, "C'mere!"**

 **"Hahahaha! No way!" Naruko responded as she ran off.**

 **The gathered shinobi were treated to the amusing sight of witnessing a Tokubetsu Jonin chasing a genin around like a cat chasing a mouse, with the mouse occasionally teasing and taunting the cat.**

Everyone chuckled as they watched, however Yuki amusingly thought it looked like a gender swapped version of Tom and Jerry.

 **Shikamaru took this in and sighed. "Great. Naruko's become even more troublesome in just a month."**

 **Shino adjusted his glasses and said, "I agree. She is quite different than she was. Why you ask? Because she is not wasting any movement as she runs and cavorts across the ground."**

That caught everyone's attention, and when they looked closely, they could agree. The girls were all thinking of asking Anko for training if she's this good.

Yuki could tell what they were thinking, and thought that it might just be what Anko needs, especially if it gets her that full promotion she's always wanted.

 **"Yosh! Naruko-chan has improved greatly!" Rock Lee expounded.**

 **"Indeed." Neji reluctantly agreed as he cast the occasional scowl at Hinata.**

Neji saw how he had been acting in the story, and compared it to how he himself had been acting. Hell, with everything that he had learned since the story had started... He cursed himself for being so blind because of his beliefs. He would apologize to Hinata after this whole thing was over, and maybe apologize to Hiashi-sama as well...

 **"Hah!" Ami scoffed, "I could take her easily."**

 **"N-Naruko-chan could beat you and your t-two lackeys with ease!" Hinata said with a mild glare at the former-Queen Bitch of the Academy.**

Yuki chuckled lightly and spoke with an Australian accent "And just watch as simply being around Naruko has caused a spine to blossom in the young Hyuuga heiress..." This got a heavy blush from Hinata that went well with her pout/glare.

Naruto thought it was cute.

 **The two 'lackeys' bristled at the comment made by the Hyūga Heiress, but merely scowled at her in the presence of the Hokage.**

 **Sarutobi sighed as he brought the teams under control. It seems that Ami was in need of being taken down a peg or two as well.**

 **"Now then. I shall outline the rules of the spar." Sarutobi said once the genin settled down, "No weapons are to be used except kunai and shuriken, no jutsu beyond C-Rank is permitted and no-one is to leave the Training Field. The spar will last until either one side gives up, is rendered unable to fight or is knocked unconscious. Killing and deliberate maiming are forbidden. Do both sides acknowledge and agree to these stipulations?"**

 **Naruko shrugged her sword off of her back and held it out to Ino. "Here, Ino-chan. Can you hold my sword for me?" she asked.**

 **"But…this is your mother's sword!" Ino protested.**

 **"It is, and I trust you to look after it." Naruko replied. Ino looked at her friend for a moment before nodding and accepted Naruko's Family Heirloom before standing back.**

 **"I accept the terms." Naruko replied formally.**

 **"Hn. That's fine by me." Sasuke sneered.**

 **Sarutobi ignored him. "ASL of Team 7, do you accept these terms on behalf of your teammates?" He asked Sakura, who was looking at Sasuke nervously.**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama. I accept the terms." Sakura replied. Sasuke still looked outraged that not only had the Hokage snubbed him in favor of a civilian, but also by the fact that said _civilian_ was his immediate superior.**

"Considering that the Fourth Hokage would be considered a 'civilian' by your terms Sasuke, and that the future you basically deserted the village to go to Orochimaru, another civilian, you're going to have to get used to the idea. Especially since defecting basically means your no better than a civilian."

 **"Very good." Sarutobi chose to ignore Sasuke's building anger…for the moment, "Warm up, then take your positions."**

 **The genin began to limber up with stretches and, in Naruko's case, shadow boxing. The Hokage gestured Kakashi and Kurenai to come over to him.**

 **"Kakashi, what have you taught your genin over the past month?" Sarutobi asked quietly, so Naruko couldn't hear them.**

 **"Kiba has been trained exclusively by his Clan." Kakashi replied lazily, "You would know better than me as to why…I taught Sakura a couple of minor genjutsu and worked on her taijutsu. Her _Hakage_ style is now at a reasonable level. Sasuke….I taught him a couple of fire jutsu and corrected the flaws in his _Sekkendō_ (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Other than that, I gave them some strength and stamina drills."**

 **"…" The Hokage looked at Kakashi for a moment. He _had_ taught his team some things, which was a surprise in and of itself, and true, Kiba had been taught his Clan's taijutsu style, _Jūjin Taijutsu_ (Beast-Human Taijutsu), from the ground up, as well as a few of the special taijutsu attacks of the Clan.**

 **However…**

 **"You didn't teach Sakura any offensive ninjutsu?" Sarutobi asked for clarification, "You didn't teach Sasuke any genjutsu?"**

 **"I had a month to teach them what I could, Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied, "The best way to do that was to divide the team into roles. Kiba is the close combat specialist, Sakura is the genjutsu support specialist and Sasuke is the ninjutsu support specialist."**

"Again, if he wasn't so damn lazy, he could have easily done more."

 **The Sandaime nodded begrudgingly. It was a sensible way to go about it, improving the overall specializations of the team so they could work as one to defeat their opponent… _if_ the team can work together.**

 **Turning to Kurenai, Sarutobi inquired as to what she had taught Naruko over the past month.**

 **Kurenai smiled proudly. "Naruko has been working furiously to learn as much of the _Ushio-Ken_ as she possibly could, with the aid of Gai and Rock Lee, and she has now achieved reasonable mastery up to the intermediate forms and she is currently working on the advanced forms.**

 **In regards to genjutsu, Naruko has no skill at genjutsu whatsoever, although she can detect and dispel genjutsu up to, and including, High C-Rank. I have started all three of my genin on the Tree-Climbing Exercise as well and she is progressing at a good pace.**

 **As to ninjutsu, she has mastered an additional Futon and Suiton jutsu, as well as one Doton jutsu, one Katon jutsu and a single Raiton jutsu. She is also working on a second Raiton, but Raiton and Doton are difficult for her to learn, so it could take a while."**

 **Sarutobi beamed proudly at his surrogate granddaughter's achievements. "Well done, Kurenai-san." he told her proudly.**

"See? now that's how you teach!" Yuki then went on for about half a minute grumbling to himself about incompetent morons.

 **"That's just what _I_ taught her." Kurenai replied, "Anko has been giving her lessons on the weekends, although exactly what I do not know. She's been very… _secretive_ about the whole thing. Plus she has been training with Gai as well."**

 **Sarutobi used his years of experience as a shinobi to resist blushing and unleashing a nosebleed of epic proportions. He knew _precisely_ what Anko and Naruko had been getting up to, because after every session, Anko had dropped off a scroll at his desk with a progress update on the Injutsu training Naruko was receiving.**

That got a lot of blushes from the genin, while Yuki was laughing to himself as he watched Tsume call the Hokage out on being a "Pervert".

 **She was now becoming adept at dominating her partners, after Anko had requested permission to bring two chunin-level kunoichi into the mix, Maehara Rinka and Maehara Ringo. She was also becoming good at Shibari, the combination being a bit too much for the two chunin, who had been broken to Naruko's will as a result and now referred to Naruko as 'Mistress' at all times.**

That got everyone red faced, and Anko over in his sister's section licking her lips in thought.

 **Naruko had apologized for that and had explained that she had taken things too far during a…session. Sarutobi understood that and forgave her, but the upshot was that she had permanently converted two kunoichi of Konoha into her personal pets, unintentionally or not.**

 **That had been… _troublesome_ , to quote the Nara, but manageable. They were now officially vassals of the Uzumaki Clan and were the gate guards of the compound, a standing B-Rank mission. The Hokage explained it to Kurenai, Ino and Hinata as extra insurance against an attack by rogue shinobi like Haruo, which had been accepted at face value by the three.**

Kurenai had apparently facepalmed and began muttering about her other's lack of perception.

 **Anko had also taught Naruko some of her _Hebi Ninpō_ that could be turned into both Injutsu and combat. She had also taught Naruko _Doton: Doryū Taiga_ , _Doton: Kansō-chi_ and _Katon: Endan_ , which was phenomenal for a genin, even using the advanced _Kage Bunshin_ training that Naruko used.**

 **"I'm sure that Anko has been keeping her teaching to appropriate strictures." Sarutobi said soothingly, "Now, it seems that the four of them are ready. Let's get this underway."**

 **The genin nodded and most leaned forward in anticipation to the match.**

 **Indeed, Naruko and Sasuke looked as if they might start without permission. The glared that the two were exchanging were giving clear warning of their intentions. The Hokage frowned. This was not a good thing, for there to be such antagonism between two genin, both the last of their clans.**

 ** _'The Curse of Hatred of the Uchiha and the Eternal Loyalty of the Uzumaki are at loggerheads.'_ Sarutobi thought with a sigh.**

"Curse of Hatred?" Sakura asked, it sounded familiar

Yuki nodded, "To quote sources from my world:

 _According to Tobirama Senju the Uchiha are people greatly devoted to love and friendship, yet they tend to conceal their more affectionate traits. When the object of their affection is lost, an Uchiha's love can instantaneously turn into hatred, leaving them more inclined to do anything and everything in their power to achieve their goals and show their own superiority, regardless of the consequences and repercussions of their actions. The despair of these experiences cause a manifestation of unique chakra within an Uchiha's brain, impacting the optic nerves and creating the Sharingan. The Sharingan's advanced forms also requires extremely painful experiences, which cause the user to delve into darkness that utterly consumes them._ *

The thought disturbed a couple of the girls. Yuki however continued "There are those that didn't fall into this curse, and those that didn't fall were the ones that actually followed with the Will of Fire to begin with."

Sasuke was lost in though at what he learned as he once again looked over his own world views and how this new information changed them.

 **The Uzumaki had broken off from the Senju hundreds of years ago, long before the Warring Clan Period had begun. While the rest of the world had engaged in a bloodbath, the Uzumaki had contented themselves with the defense of their island home. When asked by both the Uchiha and Senju Clans, one after another, for an alliance, the Uzumaki Clan leaders had refused to aid their distant cousins in slaughtering each other.**

 **In matter of fact, they had offered sanctuary to all those from both clans that didn't wish to fight and kill each other, although just in case, they were kept at opposite sides of Uzu no Kuni and watched very carefully.**

 **The Senju had eventually accepted the refusal of the Uzumaki to ally against the Uchiha, but the Uchiha had been less forgiving. Uchiha Madara himself had ranted at the 'cowardice' of the Uzumaki and had sworn that they would feel his wrath, in this life or the next.**

 **After his death at the hands of Senju Hashirama, the Uzumaki had dismissed Madara's threat of vengeance. Seventy years later, Uzushiogakure lay in ruins, its people put to the sword. Had it not been for the facts that both Madara was long dead and it was a joint attack by three different Hidden Villages, Sarutobi would have sworn that Madara had planned that attack, as it had born all of the hallmarks of his plans: swift, ruthless and heartless.**

Naruto squirmed as he heard all of this. He didn't really like hearing about his clan, his family, had been killed.

 **"Take your positions!" Sarutobi ordered, snapping himself out of his depressing memories. He had lost more than a few friends when Uzu had fallen.**

 **Naruko assumed a stance familiar to her own team, as well as Gai's team, the Araumi stance, and awaited the order to begin.**

 **Sasuke curled his lip derisively as he took a loose ready position; Sakura drew a kunai and took up a support position on his left flank. Kiba and Akamaru took the right flank, ready to rush Naruko from the get go.**

Everyone almost held their breaths as the fight started.

 **Sarutobi raised his hand for a moment then brought his hand down sharply, "Begin!" he commanded.**

 **Immediately, Kiba made the Tiger handsign and said, " _Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu_! (Beast Mimicry Ninja Art: Four Legs Jutsu!)"**

 **Kiba crouched on the ground, chakra surrounding his body and his features becoming more feral; his nails became short claws, his canines lengthened and his pupils became slits.**

 **Sakura launched the kunai in her hand at Naruko, followed by two shuriken, while Sasuke began to run through a familiar handsign sequence.**

 **Naruko merely moved two steps to the side and the thrown weapons missed her and thudded into the ground.**

 **"Tenten-san is better at Shurikenjutsu and thrown weapons than you are Sakura-chan." Naruko said casually, "So you might want to try something else."**

Tenten felt a surge of pride at the compliment.

 **On the sidelines, Tenten grinned at the compliment.**

 **"How about this!" Kiba roared as both he and Akamaru charged Naruko from both sides in a pincer manoeuvre. Naruko merely smiled as she leapt into the air, reaching three meters high.**

 **"Like that'll save you!" Kiba shouted as first him, then his ninken leapt into the air after her, his jutsu enhancing his muscles to the point that such a feat was easy for him. Akamaru had been taught to enhance his legs with chakra by his father, Kuromaru.**

 **As her assailants drew close, Naruko grinned. " _Ushio-Ken: Engetsugeri_ (Tide-Fist Style: Circle Moon Kick)" she called out as she began to rapidly spin.**

 **Unable to stop themselves, Kiba and Akamaru slammed into Naruko's rapidly revolving legs and were kicked at least twice, possibly three times, before using one blow to sail away from her.**

Kiba flinched at seeing his other getting nailed by that move, _definitely_ would leave him hurting afterwards.

 **Gai beamed proudly. "Yosh! My student's use of the Inuzuka's _Tsūga_ has enabled this most youthful technique!" he explained to the watching shinobi.**

 **"Quite." Kakashi winced at his 'rivals' volume, "But why did she name it after one of the lunar phases?"**

 **"She said that it wasn't an uncommon thing to do with the Uzumaki Taijutsu styles." Gai replied, "Indeed, Engetsu (Circle Moon) was the only one that did not have a technique named for it."**

 **Meanwhile, Sasuke finished his jutsu. " _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!)" He declared as a wide flame erupted from his mouth, rapidly approaching Naruko.**

 **"Naruko-chan!" Ino called worriedly.**

 **The flames engulfed Naruko, making Sakura gasp in horror. No one could get away from that unscathed!**

The girls held their breaths. After the attack during the genin test, they knew better than to count Naruko out, but they were still worried.

 **"Teme, do you have something against logs or something?" Naruko's voice came from behind them, making Sasuke cease his jutsu and whirl around in astonishment.**

 **Behind him, a pair of rather charred logs fell to the ground, while before him, Naruko stood unharmed. She wasn't even singed.**

Those holding their breath let it all out in a relieved sigh. That was close...

 **"How?!" Sasuke ground out.**

 **Naruko shrugged. "I had logs prepared beforehand that I used the _Henge no Jutsu_ (Transformation Jutsu) on to look like me. I sealed them into a special tag that I activated before I _Kawarimi_ 'd with another regular log just before your flames reached me. Simple really." she said with a self-deprecating shrug.**

 **"Let's see you dodge this then!" Kiba shouted, "Let's go Akamaru!" With an 'arf!' the white puppy leapt on his partner's back.**

 **" _Gijū Ninpō: Jūjin Bunshin no Jutsu_! (Beast Imitation Ninja Art: Beast Clone Jutsu!)" Kiba growled out, as he and Akamaru became engulfed in chakra smoke. When it dispersed, an identical copy of Kiba knelt on his back.**

 **"So you're going to use _Gatsūga_ then?" Naruko asked before grinning, "Well, sorry. It's _my_ turn to bring the fight to _you_ now!"**

 **Running through three familiar handsigns, she declared, much to the astonishment of her fellow graduates, " _Bunshin no Jutsu_!"**

 **Immediately, the field filled with hundreds of illusory clones of Naruko, crowding the entire field with red-and-yellow-haired copies.**

 **"She actually used the _Bunshin_?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.**

 **"So many…!" Sasuke breathed and internally, he cursed the fact that his Dōjutsu had not yet manifested. The basic _Bunshin_ was easily seen through by any dōjutsu that permitted one to see chakra. It also didn't cast a shadow, but with this many clones, that would be rather difficult.**

 **"Trying to hide? We'll flush you out!" Kiba roared as he threw Akamaru a food pill, which was rapidly swallowed, " _Jūjin Taijutsu Ōgi: Gatsūga_! (Man-Beast Taijutsu Ultimate Technique: Fang Over Fang!)"**

Yuki turned to Kiba "I thought the _Garoga_ (Fang Wolf Fang), _Cho Garoga_ (Super Fang Wolf Fang) and _Ooinga Gatenga_ (Tail Chasing Fang: Fang Rotating Fang) were your clan's ultimate techiques?" Kiba fell out of his seat in a faceplant.

 **Both he and Akamaru used the _Tsūga_ simultaneously, revolving around each other as well, and creating a whirling drill of spinning claws and rending teeth that tore through the insubstantial clones like a hot knife through butter, dispersing two thirds of them in three passes, after which they stopped to catch their bearings for their next attack.**

 **A sudden burst movement caught the eyes of the other two genin of Team 7 as the original Naruko leapt into the air above Kiba and pointed her open palms towards where Kiba and Akamaru had stopped temporarily.**

 **" _Raiton: Jibashi_! (Lightning Style: Earth Flash!)" she called as two large streams of lightning erupted from each of her hands and arced towards the Inuzuka pair.**

 **"Crap!" Kiba cursed as he and Akamaru tried to use the _Tsūga_ to get away from the incoming attack, but were clipped by the speeding electricity and flew through the air because of the discharge, hitting the ground with a pair of thumps, Akamaru reverting to his original form in a puff of smoke.**

 **Sakura, meanwhile, had started making handsigns as soon as she had spotted Naruko. " _Magen: Kyōchō no Jutsu_! (Demonic Illusion: Evil Omen Jutsu!)" she whispered, quashing the part of her that felt bad for using this _particular_ genjutsu no her friend.**

 **Naruko landed on the ground and stiffened. Tears began to drop from her eyes and the watching shinobi could see her mouthing 'No…not this…no..!' as she slumped to her knees, held up by only her arms.**

 **"Kakashi, is Sakura using the genjutsu I am _thinking_ she is?" Kurenai's voice was ice-cold with fury.**

 **"It is." Kakashi replied warily, "I anticipated my team being tested by one of you or by an ANBU, so I taught Sakura a genjutsu that is particularly harsh for a C-Rank. There should be no way for Naruko to overcome that genjutsu."**

 **"It could also break her spirit completely!" Kurenai hissed.**

 **"Nai-chan, what's she seeing?" Anko asked with concern in her voice for her student.**

 **"She's seeing the worst possible outcome of this fight." Kurenai said tightly, "Not merely winning or losing, but one where either she's crippled or worse, or she does serious harm to her friends. For someone who loves her friends like Naruko, it is quite possibly the _worst_ genjutsu to use against her."**

While some thought about learning such a jutsu to use against Naruto, those thoughts were crushed entirely. Naruto did not deserve such a jutsu used on him, ever.

 **Abruptly, Naruko looked at her gauntlet and made the Tiger Handsign. " _KAI_!" she yelled, sorrow evident in her voice as she cancelled the genjutsu.**

 **Sakura was taken aback. That had been the most powerful genjutsu in her arsenal, yet Naruko had shaken it off with very little effort. She had changed so much from the incompetent loudmouth from the Academy.**

 **Naruko slowly stood up and sent a glare at Sakura. "Sakura-chan…that was completely uncalled for." she said softly.**

 **The pinkette was stunned as Naruko seemed to vanish from her sight and reappear a foot away from of her in an instant.**

 **" _Ushio-Ken: Bōfū Resshō_! (Tide-Fist Style: Storm Violent Impact!)" Naruko said coldly as she struck out with her fists, striking her friend in her stomach and chest several times, before lashing out with a savage kick that sent Sakura flying to land a couple of meters away.**

 **Sakura groaned once before falling unconscious, her last thought being, _'When I wake up, I am soooo apologising to Naruko-chan. Right after I slap her.'_**

 **"Wow." Anko remarked, "Naru-chan got _mad_."**

 **"I'll say." Asuma said, speaking for the first time, "But she still held back enough so that Sakura was only just knocked out and no more. Controlled herself well, even when she was angry. That's a good trait for a shinobi to have."**

"Its also one of the hardest things for an Uzumaki to learn" Yuki added "An Uzumaki's rage is a powerful force. So much so that some wind element Uzumaki could whip up a windstorm with just their anger, or a lightning element Uzumaki begin to spark in their rage." He paused the fight to show a clip of what Kushina was like when pissed.

Her hair splitting into nine tails, her glowing white eyes hidden behind her shadowed bangs, the ground cracking beneath her merely from the weight of her anger. It scared most of the boys, none more so than Kiba and Shikamaru. Kiba due to the feelings of ALPHA slamming into his senses as he watched (and yes, they were screaming loud enough that the word deserved to be in caps.); Shikamaru was more 'Troublesome doesn't even _cover_ this woman in the _slightest_!'

 **By this time, Kiba and Akamaru had recovered from their minor electrocution and had reapplied the _Jūjin Bunshin_ to Akamaru.**

 **Sasuke had concealed himself behind a group of Naruko Clones and was waiting for the opportune moment to strike. He didn't have to wait long.**

 **"Let's show her the new jutsu we learned, Akamaru!" Kiba called to his partner as he tossed him another food pill, " _Jūjin Taijutsu Ōgi: Gatenga_! (Man-Beast Taijutsu Ultimate Technique: Fang Rotating Fang!)"**

 **The partners became flying buzz saws that sped in to assault Naruko, shredding a leaf that floating in their way like tissue paper as they did.**

 **Rapidly running through handsigns, Naruko leapt above the two living buzz saws. " _Suiton: Hōmatsu Rappa no Jutsu_! (Water Style: Foam Scattered Waves Jutsu!)" she said, before unleashing a mass of foamy bubbles at her foes.**

 **Taken by surprise, the two targets of Naruko's jutsu were struck full on by it. The spinning motion of the _Gatenga_ should have deflected the bubbles, except they seemed unusually…sticky. They clung to Kiba and Akamaru like white on rice. Worse, they were, rather paradoxically, very slippery, meaning that the more bubbles that attached to Kiba and Akamaru, the less traction they had to maintain their attack.**

 **The misconception that most ninja had about the Inuzuka Clan's _Taijutsu Ōgi_ was that they required no contact with the ground. This was patently untrue, as once every twenty or so revolutions, the user had to kick at the ground in order to maintain the spin/rotation. With this damnable jutsu hitting them, the friction that usually aided them in kicking off from the ground was rapidly dwindling to nothing, meaning the _Gatenga_ was going to end soon, especially if Naruko kept spitting out those damn bubbles!**

 **"That is a _very_ disgusting attack." Ino remarked idly as she cradled Naruko's sword carefully.**

 **"It works." Anko shrugged, "She wanted a Suiton that could disable rather than kill. This one fit the bill."**

 **"How can _Teppōdama_ kill?" Ino asked with a frown.**

 **"The force of the liquid bullets can be far more deadly than a kunai or shuriken because of the sheer speed they are fire at." The Hokage replied, "I once saw a well-placed _Teppōdama_ take someone's head off. Naruko and yourselves tone the speed down to non-lethal levels in training sessions, but it can be used to kill as well as bruise."**

Naruto, the girls, and some of the boys paled at that thought.

 **"Oh." was all Ino could say in response as she watched Kiba and Akamaru take a nosedive into a rapidly building pile of bubbles. Naruko abruptly ended the jutsu as Uchiha Sasuke leapt and struck at her with a kunai, attempting to cut her.**

 **She dodged the kunai by leaping to the side and launching her own attack at him. Sasuke blocked a fair few of the blows, but his _Sekkendō_ had been designed for someone with an active _Sharingan_ to use. Without it, there were several holes in his defense that Naruko exploited, ending with her knocking the kunai from his hand and sending it flying into a tree.**

"Another thing that weakened the Uchiha clan. Its also what weakens the Hyuuga clan. A taijutsu style that requires a dojutsu to be effective means that it is weakened severely or made useless if their enemy can disable their eyes. And I know a lot of ways to do so." Sasuke frowned as he though about that. Hinata and Neji frowned at that knowledge. All three unknowingly agreeing to go over their style and make an alternate version to go with their family's style to get rid of that weakness.

 **Sasuke leaped back and began making more handsigns. Naruko merely made the Tiger handsign and said, " _Doton: Doryū Taiga no Jutsu_!"**

 **The mud river that erupted from beneath Sasuke sent him stumbling and sliding halfway across the field, but he managed to keep making his handsigns.**

 **" _Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!)" he shouted, unleashing a wave of small fireballs at Naruko.**

 **Naruko smiled as she once again made the Tiger handsign. " _Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu_! (Water Style: Liquid Bullets Jutsu!)" she said as she launched a single bullet at each of the fireballs, extinguishing them and creating a cloud of steam.**

 **{Whirr!}**

 **A pair of shuriken came at her through the steam and Naruko sighed as she stepped to the side so they'd miss. She was therefore taken off guard when the shuriken moved to compensate from behind her and found herself wrapped up by two sets of near invisible ninja wire.**

 **" _Ninpō: Sōshuriken no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Shuriken Manipulation Jutsu)!" Tenten exclaimed as the steam cleared.**

 **Sasuke stood with a smirk, with the wire held between his teeth as he made another set of handsigns. " _Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!)" He hissed, sending a wave of searing flames down the wire to engulf Naruko.**

 **Kiba, meanwhile, was swearing like a sailor in the background as he was trapped in the mire of foamy bubbles that Naruko had created, as was Akamaru.**

 **"Hokage-sama, he was aiming to kill her there." Anko said dangerously. She clutched a kunai in one hand tightly as she watched her lover fight.**

 **"Indeed." Sarutobi said with narrowed eyes, "Fortunately, Naruko avoided it completely."**

 **"Teme, you really _do_ have a grudge against logs don't you?" Naruko said as she strolled out of the trees to Sasuke's left. The Last Uchiha let his jutsu end and, once again, a charred log was in Naruko's place. It was, in matter of fact, the same log she had used the last time.**

 **"How? Your hands were bound!" Sasuke snarled.**

 **"One of my pet projects has been to master the _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ to the point that I can use it seallessly." Naruko replied calmly, "As you can see, I mastered it, not two days ago in fact. Lucky for me, eh? -dattebayo."**

Naruto promised himself to do the same, for all of his jutsus.

 **Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I refuse to lose to the likes of you." he snarled.**

 **"Tough luck, Teme, cause that's _exactly_ what is gonna happen." Naruko replied.**

 **At some unspoken signal, the two began making handsigns as rapidly as they could.**

 **" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_!" " _Katon: Takibi no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Bonfire Jutsu!)"**

 **The two launched their jutsu at the same time, Sasuke's the large orange fireball of the Uchiha Clan's Coming of Age jutsu, while Naruko's was a deep crimson fireball that was slightly smaller than the _Gōkakyū_ , but also shaped like a teardrop and seemed to sparkle as it erupted from Naruko's mouth.**

 **When the two jutsu collided, they pressed against each other, almost seeming alive as they attempted to overwhelm the other jutsu. Naruko's started to push Sasuke's back slightly, and then Sasuke's regained its ground and pushed Naruko's back.**

 **The struggle carried on for about a minute, before Sarutobi smiled slightly. "This match will go to Naruko." He said knowingly.**

 **"Sasuke will be far too tired and low on chakra to continue fighting after his jutsu is defeated." he explained to the few people that showed incomprehension.**

 **As if his words had triggered it, the _Gōkakyū_ abruptly shrank in size slightly, before being pushed back a good foot. Eyes wide, Sasuke cut the flow of chakra to his jutsu and leapt away barely in time to avoid the _Takibi_ impacting upon his previous location and bursting into five foot high flames.**

Yuki chuckled at the starry eyed look Naruto was giving.

 **Sasuke scowled at Naruko from where he landed in a crouch and attempted to stand up, but found he could not stand.**

 ** _'My chakra…! I've used it all!'_ Sasuke realized in shock.**

 **"This match is over!" The Hokage declared, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruko!"**

The video ended and everyone turned their attention back to Yuki, thinking about how the match went.

 **Sasuke burned with shame and anger at being beaten by the lowest ranked member of his graduating class. He vowed never to let this humiliation happen again.**

Sasuke was starting to feel even more disgusted with how his other has been acting, and vowed to himself never to fall to such levels himself.

* * *

 **Ten minutes later**

 **Sakura flinched as she regained consciousness and all the pain of her body clamored for her attention, evoking a groan from her.**

Yuki smirked "I'm not the only one that lets groups like yourselves read and watch alternate universes. Just be thankful I didn't include a curse that makes you feel what your others feel. Doubly so Naruto if Naruko's time of the month came along." This got varied reaction of dread and blushing embarrassment from some of the gennin.

 **"Sakura-chan?" a familiar voice called to her from a few feet away, "Ah, you have come around. Sorry about that."**

 **"N-Naru…ko?" Sakura muttered as she cranked an eye open to see her surroundings. She was still in the clearing, but her head was laid on a cushion and her body didn't ache nearly as badly as he would have thought, considering the beating her friend had dealt to her.**

 **Sitting not three paces away was Naruko. She was relaxed and unruffled as if she were sitting in a café or bistro rather than on the ground of a Training Field after an arduous and taxing spar. Hell, she didn't even look like she was remotely tired.**

 **Sakura sat up abruptly, only to be struck by a wave of dizziness. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and steadied her.**

 **"Whoa, easy there, Sakura-chan." Naruko said as she held the pinkette's thin shoulders, "Man, you need to eat more. I bet I could pick you up with a single arm."**

 **"Don't you dare." Sakura threatened her darkly, merely making Naruko chuckle.**

Getting an idea. Naruto stood up for a moment, picking up Sakura in one arm, Ino in the other, his arms wrapped around them to hold Hinata up as well. "Well what do you know? it is rather easy!" The girls giggled a little while Sakura finished with a slap to Naruto's shoulder after he sat down and released them.

 **"Well then, Sakura, you'd better get on with it." Naruko said as she released her grip on Sakura.**

 **"What?" Sakura asked blankly.**

 **"Slapping me." Naruko replied, "I went too far when I knocked you out, so feel free."**

Yuki was suddenly reminded of a certain red haired armor user that belonged to a guild of destructive fairies.

 **Sakura stared at her friend for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "Naruko, you haven't changed since we were little, have you?" she asked rhetorically. In her mind, she could see a little girl in a blue skirt and white t-shirt, with shoulder length blond hair and deep blue eyes, apologizing for bumping into her on the way to the slide one day at the playground.**

 **"I guess." Naruko replied with a shrug.**

 **"I'm the one who has to apologize." Sakura said, "I shouldn't have used that genjutsu on you."**

 **"It's alright." Naruko told her, "Besides, knocking you out was better than what I had planned on doing to you."**

 **"Which was?" Sakura asked warily.**

 **" _Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu_." Naruko replied.**

 **"Oh, that? I think Kakashi-sensei used that on Sasuke-kun during our genin test." Sakura remarked, "Good thing you didn't use it on me, I would have clocked you one for that."**

 **"See why I'm kinda glad I didn't have to do it?" Naruko replied with a wide grin.**

That got a chuckle from the girls and a pout from Naruto.

 **"Yeah…hey, where is everyone? And how did the match go?" Sakura asked, realizing that she and Naruko were alone in the field.**

 **"At another clearing." Naruko replied, "I volunteered to tend to you until you came to. As for the match, it was my victory."**

 **"You…beat both Kiba and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked disbelievingly. Kiba, she could believe, but Sasuke-kun was Rookie of the Year!**

 **"Yep. I'm just that awesome -dattebayo!" Naruko grinned as she helped Sakura to her feet.**

 **"B…But...how?" Sakura asked as she followed her friend through the trees at an easy walk.**

 **"I used a Suiton Jutsu to immobilize Kiba and Akamaru." Naruko replied, "As for Sasuke-teme, I made him run out of chakra. Not surprised he ran out of juice, he used four C-Rank Katon Jutsu in the space of twenty minutes."**

 **Sakura shook her head slowly, "How the hell did you graduate last?"**

 **"Too much chakra to make less than thirty ordinary _Bunshin_." Naruko replied, "No-one suggested that I had more chakra than normal, so I didn't think of creating more than three clones. Plus, with so much chakra, my control was -still is- abysmal, so I had no chance."**

"I'll throw in what I can to help you Naruto with chakra control... hell, I'll help everyone out with that" Yuki got nods in thanks from the group.

 **"But...didn't Hokage-sama tell the staff about your chakra?" Sakura asked, confused.**

 **"He didn't think to tell them." Naruko replied, "He didn't know that my Clan's History was illegally removed from the curriculum, so no-one knew about the high chakra reserves of the Uzumaki Clan."**

 **"Aaarrgh." Sakura gave a small scream and pulled her hair lightly in irritation, "I don't suppose you could give me that missing part of the classes?"**

Yuki chuckled as the same look passed over Sakura's face "Its been added to your pile Sakura, just like it has Naruto's and anyone else whom may want it."

 **She had asked more out of irritation than expectation, but Naruko unsealed a scroll from a storage seal on a wristband she wore underneath her left coat sleeve and handed it to her.**

 **"This contains the relevant missing sections of our lessons." Naruko said with a smile. Seeing Sakura's surprise, Naruko explained, "I knew you'd want to read the part of Konoha's history that was deliberately omitted from the curriculum, so I had Ji-chan have this made for you."**

 **Sakura was touched that Naruko had been so thoughtful as to remember her love of history. "That you, Naruko-chan." she said with a smile.**

Sakura leaned over and kissed Naruto on the cheek before leaning against his shoulder.

 **Naruko smiled back at her pink-haired friend and continued on walking. A few minutes later, the two genin-kunoichi came to another clearing where a small picnic was underway.**

 **"Ah Naruko-chan, Sakura-chan." the Hokage greeted them from his seat on a rock, "Have a seat and tuck in before everything's gone."**

 **Hastily, Sakura and Naruko sat down at the open space next to Ino and helped themselves to some of the excellent food arrayed before them.**

 **Opposite them, a sulky looking Sasuke sat and chomped away at a large salad with a rather large amount of tomatoes, his favourite food. Next to him, Akamaru was happily eating a bowl of rare steak and Kiba was adding some Karaage to his plate.**

Yuki mentally added a few Tomato dishes from back home to Sasuke's pile and a few Barbecue recipes to Kiba and Choji's piles.

 **Shikamaru wasn't eating, evidently finding picnics troublesome, and was snoozing under a nearby tree. Chōji was eating with such speed that no one could see what he was eating. Shino was rather daintily eating some dango alongside Anko.**

 **Tenten grinned and nodded at Naruko when she arrived before biting into a sandwich. Neji contented himself with sipping at a cup of sencha, while Lee was adding some sushi to his plate.**

 **Ino was eating more than usual, thanks to some serious talks she had had with Kurenai and Anko two weeks ago, and she was far more energetic in training as a result. Hinata was eating a cinnamon bun with great enjoyment.**

Hinata's mouth watered at the thought of her favorite treat.

 **Ami and her flunkeys were eating some crisps from what Naruko could see and were steadfastly ignoring Naruko.**

 **The rest of the Jonin were sipping at some sake, although Kakashi was never seen to actually drink any.**

 **Eventually, the food was consumed and everyone was sitting in (relative) contentment.**

"Don't worry, we'll have a break after this chapter to get something to eat." Yuki told them, to alleviate some of their growing hunger as they heard about all of the food at the picnic.

 **The Sandaime cleared his throat as he turned to Naruko.**

 **"Ahem. Now, regarding the match. Naruko, what did you do wrong?" he asked her, to everyone's surprise.**

 **Naruko sighed. "Firstly, I let the opposing team set the pace for almost the entire battle, thus forfeited the initiative.**

 **Secondly, I lost control of my temper after being subjected to that genjutsu.**

 **Thirdly, I became complacent and arrogant after defeating Sakura and Kiba, thus allowing Sasuke to lend an attack combination that could have dealt serious damage to me had I not mastered the _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ to the point of not needing seals.**

 **Finally, I let pride get in the way and chose to match Sasuke fire jutsu for fire jutsu, rather than dodge and defeat him in close combat."**

Naruto memorized those points based on the intensity of the look he was giving the book at the moment. He was not going to fall to those faults if he could help it.

 **Sarutobi nodded. "All valid and true. Now, what did your opponents do wrong?" he asked.**

 **Naruko threw an apologetic glance to Sakura before she spoke, "They attacked separately, rather than as a team. They could have defeated me if they had coordinated their attacks, but they didn't."**

 **Kakashi looked indignant at this, but was hushed before he could speak.**

 **"They were also too specialised," Naruko continued, "Kiba only used taijutsu, albeit enhanced with his Clan's nin-taijutsu bent, Sasuke used a style that he can't use to its fullest extent because it requires an active _Sharingan_ and, other than a few exceptions, only used ninjutsu, while Sakura-chan only used genjutsu and the _Hakage_ style.**

 **Because of their disparity in skills, I was able to defeat Kiba and Sakura with skills that countered their own. It was only because I cannot use genjutsu that I did not defeat Sasuke similarly."**

"Huh... reminds me of the Fire Emblem weapons wheel..."

This immediately got Tenten's attention "Weapons wheel?"

"Yeah, Sword beats Axe, due to the sword being faster to get around the axe. Axe beats Spear, due to an axe's weight easily chopping through a spear's shaft. And Spear beats Sword, due to the weapon's range compared to the shorter sword. However that's just counting in the weapons themselves. If you take in the style of the weapon, as well as the skill and build of the weilder, those types don't always match up."

Tenten thought about the idea and found merit with the concept.

 **Sarutobi nodded gravely. "Are those the only mistakes they made?" he asked her.**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." Naruko said firmly. A small conversation seemed to pass between the two as they locked gazes, but Sarutobi eventually sighed and nodded.**

 **"Very well then." Sarutobi turned to Kakashi, "Well Kakashi, it seems you won't be removed as Team 7's Jonin-sensei after all, although I hereby order you to improve their teamwork and broaden their skills, so they are not defeated in detail as they were today."**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed slightly in gratitude.**

 **"As for you, Naruko-chan, here is your payment for a B-Rank mission completed with distinction." Sarutobi said genially as he passed her a couple of scrolls.**

 **"Arigato, Ji-chan!" Naruko beamed at her grandfather figure. Today rocked! She got more jutsu scrolls and got to beat up Sasuke-teme!**

That got some more chuckles from everyone. It seems that Naruko's cheer was just as infectious as Naruto's.

* * *

 **Three Hours Later**

 **Dining Room, Uzumaki Clan Estate**

 **"So, what was your reward for completing the mission, Gaki?" Anko asked curiously. Team 8 was sat around the table and eating a special treat that Naruko had splurged on: Momiji-Nabe (Venison Nabe). The hotpot was full to the brim with venison, burdock, shiitake mushrooms, negi, konnyaku, tofu and a few green vegetables, all cooked in a miso broth.**

 **Anko had outdone herself with the cooking here and Naruko planned to give her a surprise when they next had one of their 'private lessons' as a thank you.**

Everyone blushed again at the reminder.

 **"Do you remember two years ago, three Taki kunoichi were turned in for interrogation by Kakashi-sensei?" Naruko asked.**

 **"Oh yeah, those three." Anko shrugged, "Meh, they squealed like pigs after a few minutes. What about them?"**

 **"They were caught after they tried to kill Iruka-sensei and me." Naruko replied, "Anyway, they used two interesting jutsu: _Katon Renkeijutsu: Karura_ (Fire Style Synergy Jutsu: Garuda) and _Ninpō: Gen'ei Tajū Shuriken no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Multiple Phantom Shuriken Jutsu).**

Everyone looked at Yuki. They had never heard of those jutsu before.

Yuki thought for a moment "The _Garuda_ technique requires three users. All three exhale a powerful stream of fire that combine into a large dragon. To be honest, the technique isn't all that popular due to there being better jutsu that don't need more people. However if this jutsu is performed by three people who use different flames. Like if Sakura used regular fire, Naruto used foxfire (something we'll try to figure out. He's got a giant kitsune in him for crying out loud) and Sasuke managed to use the black flames of a higher level _Sharingan_ , then it would become something glorious."

The resident Pyros seemed to be lost in a momentary daze as they thought about it. They were brought out of their thoughts when Yuki continued "The other one is basically the same as the _Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu_ , but without utilizing the _Shadow Clone Jutsu_ in any way. Its also a jutsu that requires three users to perform. I have no idea how the constructs vary between the phantom shuriken and shadow shuriken."

 **Ji-chan gave those to me, along with three other jutsu: _Doton: Doro Kawara no Jutsu_ (Earth Style: Mud Tile Jutsu), _Ninpō: Kawara Shuriken no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken Jutsu) and _Ninpō: Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)."**

"I know of the two jutsu the kunoichi used." Kurenai said with a frown, "They're collaboration jutsu, meant to be used by multiple users."

 **"The beauty of Shadow Clones." Naruko said beatifically.**

Naruto's shout of joy was loud enough to be heard by the other two groups.

 **"Man, imagine using _both_ of those Shuriken replication jutsu at the same time!" Anko said, drooling slightly at the thought.**

Naruto had joined her in imagining it.

 **"Whereas I'm still working on mastering _Katon: Endan_." Ino said, slightly depressed. She and Hinata had mastered _Teppōdama_ last week, and had moved on to their other element. Ino was learning _Endan_ , while Hinata was working on _Futon: Reppūshō_ , with varying degrees of success.**

 **"Aw, c'mon Ino-chan." Naruko said encouragingly, "You and Hinata mastered _Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu_ in a few days. _That_ was impressive. And something I'll never be able to do."**

 **"Naru-chan here's right." Anko said as she tousled Naruko's hair, to the blonds' vocal objections, "Each of you have your strengths and weaknesses. Gaki here can't use genjutsu at all; Flower Girl over there has pretty small stamina reserves, while the quiet one there needs a kick in the pants to be aggressive."**

 **Ino glared half-heartedly at Anko but was forced to concede the point. She was in OK physical condition, but nothing to write home about. She got tired far too quickly for a kunoichi, so she was doing physical exercise drills in training, when not practicing her ninjutsu.**

Ino also had a half-hearted glare, but she too conceded and started going over different exercises she could do to get into proper shape.

 **Hinata had received a priceless gift from her father three weeks ago: the altered version of the _Jūken_ created by her mother, the _Jūho_ , and had thrown herself into learning and mastering it. The results had been…impressive, to say the least. The _Jūho_ katas fit her in a way the _Jūken_ never had and, for the first time in her life, Hinata actually excelled at her taijutsu, steadily and swiftly mastering each kata and stance before advancing to the next.**

Yuki smirked at Hinata "The origin of _Jūho_ actually varies from world to world. Sometimes its your grandmother that created it, sometimes its your mother. However the more common version is that you actually created the style yourself Hinata."

Hinata blushed and looked in awe at that. She created her own style? Did it...? She looked expectantly at Yuki, who merely chuckled and nodded, getting Hinata to glow in pride.

 **Hinata was practically aglow with glee at the thought of learning such a style. Especially when Yuki played a quick clip of future Hinata using the Juho: Soshiken (Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists).**

Yuki played a video game clip of Hinata using the _Soshiken_. Poor girl was speechless.

 **Naruko had been helping her by making a small army of Shadow Clones to act as living test dummies for her. Hyūga Kō, Hinata's personal bodyguard when she was younger, watched his mistress's progress with a critical eye, but had told Kurenai in confidence that she was already at the level where she would be taught the _Hakke Sanjūni Shō_ , which she already knew.**

 **"Enough serious talk!" Anko said firmly, "This is a party to celebrate both Naru-chan here's victory over _Baka_ shi's Team _and_ Nai-chan's apartment getting fixed up from that flooding damage a month ago!"**

The girls giggled "Bakashi..." That certainly did fit the man.

 **"The landlord evicted the man responsible." Kurenai mused, "He was _not_ happy."**

 **"I'll bet." Ino snorted, "Why'd it take so long to fix up anyway?"**

 **"I took the opportunity to have a few minor repairs I had been putting off done, as well as having the place repainted." Kurenai told her.**

 **"Hey, Hinata! No poaching the meat!" Anko protested.**

 **"F-First come, first s-served, Anko-sensei." Hinata replied.**

 **"Grrr!"**

 **"Oh boy." Kurenai muttered as Anko squabbled with the Hyūga Heiress over the delectable well-cooked venison, "I can't wait to move back out again."**

 ** _'Neither can I.'_ Anko and Naruko thought simultaneously. They had been forced to limit their nightly trysts with each other and the new guards to the weekend, when the Hokage obligingly sent Kurenai out on an A-Rank mission that suited her and Hinata and Ino returned to their respective Clans for training and to fulfil their responsibilities as the heiresses.**

 **With Kurenai _gone_ however, Naruko and Anko could get in some nightly practice thanks to some useful Silencing Seals and Byakugan Obscuring Seals Naruko had found in her studies of her family library.**

 **Yes, Naruko had graduated from calligraphy practice with Iruka to careful creation of Storage Seals and Explosive Tags. After a few minor accidents (read: premature detonations and destroyed practice sealing items), Sarutobi had approved her qualifications as a beginner-level Seal Master and immediately put in a standing order of seventy Explosive Tags a month.**

 **From there, she had focussed on getting her first order done and then studying her family scrolls for more seals that might be useful. Several caught her eye, but the one that her Ji-chan wanted was still beyond her abilities for the moment, so she needed to find seals that would allow her to practice more complicated seals and didn't have nasty consequences if they went wrong.**

 **Fortunately, these two seals fit both criteria and Naruko had begun practicing them a week ago in secret, and was almost ready to attempt a live practice with chakra-infused ink.**

 **Once she had perfected the seals, Naruko knew she would be _really_ enjoying her nights.**

And the blush is back, although much less so than it has been. _'Huh, they must be getting used to it. Oh well, it will only be helpful should something like that come up in a mission.'_ Yuki mused.

* * *

 **Same Time**

 **Hokage's Office**

 **Sarutobi frowned as he reviewed the mission request in front of him. It was a C-Rank Mission Request from a village in the far south of Hi no Kuni, Morimura, requesting a team to locate and rescue some kidnapped villagers and deal with whomsoever was kidnapping them, presumed to be bandits.**

 **This was not an unusual request. Sarutobi had issued hundreds of similar missions to genin teams over the years. Something about this particular location, however, bothered him.**

The Gennin all seemed to get a lead feeling in their guts.

 **The area where Morimura was located was deep in a forest, not in itself unusual in Hi no Kuni, but this forest had a bad reputation. Starting about five years ago, mysterious disappearances had begun being reported by the villages on the outskirts of the forest. A squad of the Fire Daimyo's samurai had gone missing after being seen entering the forest.**

 **Even some ninja had gone missing in or around that forest. A chunin team had vanished in the area two years ago and no one could find a single trace of them. Either they had gone Nuke-nin with stealth skills equivalent to Uchiha Itachi's own, or they had been abducted by someone skilled enough to both overpower the four chunin in an ambush/straight out fight _and_ thoroughly erase any trace of the battle and the presence of the chunin.**

 **Very troubling.**

It definitely got the genin to worry when they thought about it. Dread seemed to fill the air the more they thought about it.

 **The Sandaime Hokage was not a person given to flights of fancy. Nor did he like it when his ninja were kidnapped and possibly killed. This area _had_ to be investigated, but he couldn't storm in like a bull in a china shop. The best plan would be to use this mission request as a cover and have them shadowed by a team or two of ANBU.**

 **Which begged the question, which team to use? Team 7 was out. Sasuke wouldn't know subtlety if it poked him in the eye and Kiba was just…no, not suitable for this mission.**

Despite that being true, Sasuke and Kiba both grunted at the insults.

 **Team 9, or Team Gai as most people called them, was not suited either. Both Gai and his doppelganger Rock Lee stood out too much and Neji was…unsociable to put it politely.**

Lee gave a man-pout (The girls thought Naruto could do it better) and Neji conceded the point. It was true after all.

 **Team 10 was…not ready yet. Granted, Shikamaru was a genius in a Clan of geniuses and Shino was no slouch either. Chōji would no doubt follow his childhood friend's lead in matters. The problem was they lacked the edge that was required to make this mission a success.**

The three listed nodded in agreement, those were some good points.

 **This left…Team 8. Two experienced Jonin-level kunoichi, a Hyūga to warn of ambushes and locate the kidnapped people, a Yamanaka to interrogate anyone they found and Uzumaki Naruko to act as the shield of the team with her one-woman army of Shadow Clones.**

 **Sarutobi sighed and massaged his temples. _'Buck up, Sarutobi!'_ he chided himself, _'You knew that you'd have to send her into danger sooner or later once she became a ninja!'_**

 **He was having a hard time following his own advice. He had spent the last twelve years doing his utmost to try to protect Naruko and old habits die hard.**

 ** _'She'll be fine.'_ he tried to convince himself, _'I'll have her team shadowed by two teams of ANBU. Besides, Naruko has gotten stronger than I would have thought possible. She will not allow her team to be harmed and vice versa.'_**

 **Sarutobi reached for the sake. He found himself in accord with his only female student at the moment. Sometimes, you had to get absolutely smashed in order to get over things, and this was very high quality sake, so he estimated total inebriation in twenty minutes if he paced himself.**

* * *

Back with the Traveling Tsunade and company.

Tsunade had a sudden surge of pride towards her former teacher, and she had no idea why.

* * *

 **He really hated his job. He just had to hope he was making the correct decision.**

The genin hoped so too. They all had a bad feeling about this mission

Yuki read off the next chapter "Ok, so the next chapter is called 'C-Rank to Morimura', and with that thought." he closed the book and snapped his fingers as tables practically covered in food appeared "Time for a food break." He also made a couple of bathroom and bedrooms for everyone. He then chuckled as everyone rushed over to get some much needed food.

However food didn't abate the growing fear they all were feeling for the upcoming mission.

 _ ***Song: RWBY Season 2 opening: Time to Say Goodbye (Do now own)**_

 _ ***Direct quote from Naruto Wikia on the subject. (Do not own)**_


	13. Ch 12: C-Rank to Morimura

After the Genin were watered and fed, it was time to get back to the story.

Being the benevolent reader that he was, Yuki took stock of the excited/nervous Genin before him as they got situated in their seats. He could tell that they were looking forward to seeing what this mission would be like. Little did they know they were going to get a lot more than that before this arc is over.

"Just a word of warning getting into this chapter." Yuki started, getting the kids' attentions, "Yes, there will be quite a bit of fighting in this mission. There are also a couple near death experiences... I said near death, nobody actually dies... nobody you know anyways..."

This got worried looks from said kids as they turned their attention back to the screen and its pictures as Yuki read on.

 **Chapter 12: C-Rank to Morimura**

 **The Next Day, 09.00 am**

 **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower**

 **"Team 8, reporting for duty." Kurenai said crisply. Behind her, Anko and the genin stood at lax attention, anticipating another day of boring D-Rank missions.**

You could just see that the group already hated D-Ranks, and most of them hadn't gone on any yet.

 **"Ah, good to see you here." Sarutobi replied warmly as he leaned on his desk, "Ready to receive a mission?"**

 **"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kurenai replied.**

 **"Hmmm…let's see…" Sarutobi muttered, "Team 8. Completed Missions: 44 D-Rank. Failed Missions: 1 D-Rank, blame assigned to the client for his belligerent and confrontational behaviour. A most impressive record for a genin team barely a month out of the Academy."**

Naruto scowled at that, remembering what was said about that mission in particular.

 **The genin blushed slightly at the compliment paid to them by the Hokage. Anko just grinned.**

 **"Yeah, our gaki's are the best rookies in Konoha." the Snake Mistress said confidently.**

 **"Oh?" Sarutobi said, "In which case…Kurenai-kun, do you feel that your team is ready for a C-Rank?"**

 **Kurenai's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but gave the question serious consideration. Naruko was definitely ready, no questions. Hinata was coming along nicely as well. As for Ino, a brief dose of how the world worked outside of the walls of Konoha might be just the thing she needed to snap her out of her fangirlism finally.**

Naruto beamed at the praise, Hinata was smiling at how her progress was going, however Ino was scowling. Were they just going to constantly bring that up?

 **She glanced briefly at Anko, who gave her a quick thumbs up. Evidently, her friend wanted the kids to do something other than chores.**

Yeah, the scowls of annoyance at said chores were pretty universal amongst the genin.

 **She then looked at her genin. Naruko was practically vibrating in place with anticipation, little surprise there. Hinata was looking slightly worried but also looked curious as to what the mission might be. Ino just looked hopeful for the possibility of getting away from D-Ranks for a while.**

 **"Yes, I believe that my team are ready for a C-Rank." she replied firmly as she turned back to the Hokage.**

 **"Good, good. This was the mission I had in mind for you. Over the last two months, over twenty people, men, women and children, have disappeared form a village in the south of Hi no Kuni called Morimura." Sarutobi told them solemnly, "Your mission is to investigate the area, locate the missing people and recover them. Understood?"**

The anticipation was building on everyone's faces, and most were trying to figure out what was going to happen in the mission that would lead to the things Yuki had hinted at.

 **"Hai!" Team 8 responded instantly.**

 **"Very good." Sarutobi smiled at the genin, "Now, I have to brief Kurenai-kun and Anko-kun on the local contacts and the client, so while I do that, head back to you home and prepare for a two week long C-Rank mission. Be at the Front Gate in an hour."**

 **"Gotcha Ji-chan." Naruko nodded and led the way out the door, swiftly followed by Hinata and Ino.**

 **Once the genin left, Sarutobi dropped his grandfatherly expression and became serious.**

Uh-Oh.

 **"As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary, C-Rank." He told the two Jonin in front of him, "Its actual rank is likely to be at least Mid-B, possibly even High-A."**

That got everyone but the Crewger family worried.

 **"Damn." Anko whistled, "What's gotten you so ruffled that you'd use a genin team as bait, old man?"**

 **Sarutobi stifled a smile. One reason why he liked Anko so much was her indifference to rank and titles. It was just as refreshing to hear as Naruko calling him 'Ji-chan'.**

Everyone looked over at the smiling Naruto for a moment before Yuki's reading drew their attention back to the story.

 **"Over the last five years, there have been numerous disappearances in that area, ranging from individual civilians and the occasional group of bandits, to a group of the Daimyo's Samurai and even a four man squad of Konoha chunin." Sarutobi explained, "This latest report from Morimura is the last straw. People getting taken as they travel is one thing, but the report from the Elder of Morimura says that these latest missing villagers were taken from their own homes while they slept."**

 **"Any signs of a struggle?" Kurenai asked with narrowed eyes.**

 **"No, which greatly concerns me." Sarutobi replied, "All the doors were locked tight and dead bolted, all windows were locked and unbroken and there were no holes in the walls, floors or the roof. All this evidence points to shinobi involvement, High-chunin level at least."**

There was a feeling of dread that was like a lead weight hitting the bottom of the listening genin's stomachs faster than a Mexican buffet.

 **"Are there any reports of Nuke-nin in the area?" Anko asked in a quietly dangerous voice.**

 **"None, which is unusual." replied Sarutobi, "An area such as Morimura -quiet, isolated and well hidden in the centre of a forest- would usually be the perfect place for a band of Nuke-nin to set up camp. There are, however, local Ninja Clans, which might explain that."**

 **Anko and Kurenai both raised their eyebrows. Ninja Clans unaligned with a Hidden Village were very rare in the Five Great Shinobi Nations these days. After the founding of Konohagakure and the defeat of Madara, the Shodaime Hokage had extended an invitation to every Clan in Hi no Kuni to join the Senju and Uchiha in building and growing the new village.**

 **The Inuzuka, the Aburame, the Hyūga, the Kurama, the Yamanaka, the Nara, the Akimichi…countless clans had joined Konoha in the early days.**

The members of each clan nodded subconsciously in acknowledgement when their clan was mentioned.

 **Only the most arrogant, prideful and foolish had refused. Most of the most warlike of those Clans had met similar fates to that of the Kaguya Clan of Mizu no Kuni, slaughtered to the last man.**

 **Others had died out, either through line extinction or from disease. A select few had joined Konoha after its initial intake of Clans, such as the Toji Clan. The rest were mostly forgotten about as they retreated to their hidden strongholds, rarely venturing out into a world that had passed them by.**

 **"How many are there?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"From an old report, there are four Clans each in a different direction from the village." The Hokage replied, "The Yanagi Clan to the South, the Momiji Clan to the East, and the Kashi Clan to the North and the Kaba Clan to the West. Of course this report is ten year out of date, so it's a coin flip as to whether they are still there or not."**

 **"Willow, Maple, Oak and Birch?" Anko asked with a snort of laughter.**

The listeners were captivated by the backstory at this point, except for Shikamaru. The lazy Nara was either half listening out of his usual lack of energy, or his mind was processing everything at a speed that would leave others spinning.

Yuki had a bunch of coffee that he was going to forcefeed the Nara should he start to snore or prove that he was falling asleep, a sentiment shared by his brother over in the parent's/council group.

 **"Apparently, the area around Morimura is a long contested area between those four Clans." Sarutobi said, "Much like the Uchiha, Senju, Hyūga and Uzumaki are all descended from the same ancestor, these four Clans are descended from a single progenitor also, called Morisato Kazenotsuchi.**

 **"After his death, his four sons squabbled over who would inherit his land and power. The Eldest was a flexible character and tried to mediate amongst his siblings to no avail. He became the first head of the Yanagi Clan.**

 **"The next-oldest brother was warlike, and desired his father's power for his own ends and ambitions. He became the first Head of the Momiji Clan.**

 **"The second youngest was inflexible and rigid in his beliefs, thinking himself superior to all others, and he became the first Head of the Kashi Clan.**

 **"Finally, the youngest brother wished the eldest to become the successor to their father, as his last wishes indicated. He became the first Head of the Kaba Clan.**

 **"To this day, they continue to fight, each determined to prove themselves to be the true inheritor of their great ancestor's land and will."**

 **Kurenai looked thoughtful. "Could these Ninja Clans have anything to do with the disappearances?" she mused aloud.**

 **"It's within the realms of possibility. I could name several dangerous and powerful Kinjutsu that would require human sacrifices in order to activate." Sarutobi said grimly, "Of those, a good half a dozen require a gradual awakening, starting with sacrifices containing very little chakra and progressing to those who have an abundance of chakra…such as trained ninja."**

 **"So there's a possibility that we are being lured in as sacrifices to be used in some unknown Kinjutsu? Brilliant." Kurenai sighed.**

None of what they were hearing was pleasant to think about. Kiba spoke up without really thinking "So it's a trap?"

Everyone turned to him with a deadpan 'are you serious?' expression on their faces "No, Kiba... They need the stronger ninja for a fireworks show..." You could almost see the sarcasm dripping off Yuki's words.

Kiba blushed and sunk into his seat, embarrassed at himself for failing to grasp the obvious.

A voice sounded from the white voide surrounding them " _Here's your sign_." before a small plastic sign on a long string plopped onto Kiba's head that read " _I'm Stupid_ " (Bill Engvall (tm))

 **"You will not be going in alone." Sarutobi assured her grimly, "I will be sending two teams of ANBU along with you. They will be shadowing you and ensuring that neither you nor your team comes to any harm, in addition to investigating the area thoroughly."**

 **Kurenai relaxed somewhat. Not much could get past two teams of ANBU, even on a bad day.**

 **"Who's leading the teams?" Anko asked curiously.**

 **"Neko (Cat) is leading Team 1 -Inu, Nezumi (Rat) and Usagi (Rabbit), while Saru (Monkey) is leading Team 2 -Ushi (Cow), Ryū (Dragon) and Ondori (Rooster)." Sarutobi replied.**

 _'And Yugao is the only one I recognized from the group. Stupid multiverse randomizer...'_ Yuki thought as he looked up at the picture of the assembled ANBU that would be traveling with the story's Team 8.

 **"What if we need backup?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"Anko-chan here can send a summon to inform me of any developments." Sarutobi said, before he paused, "Actually, while you're travelling Anko-chan, I'd appreciate it if you could teach Naruko-chan the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ as a backup measure."**

 **"Eh?" Anko appeared startled, "The Gaki's signed a Summoning Contract?"**

 **"Ah, so she obeyed my order to keep it a secret." Sarutobi chuckled, "It's the second ability of that gauntlet of hers. Anyone who wears it is automatically a Summoner of the Monkey Clan, even without signing the Contract."**

 **"…" Anko stared at the Hokage for a moment, "That's some graduation present you gave the gaki, old man."**

The genin responded with slightly jealous/awe fuelled absentminded nods of agreement.

 **"I merely thought it would be appropriate." Sarutobi chuckled, "By the way, what weapons has she offered to the gauntlet thus far?"**

 **"Eh? Lesse…" Anko said thoughtfully, "The Bō Staff, Katana and Tantō are the ones I know about. She's planning on adding a Fūma Shuriken as soon as she finds one of sufficiently high quality."**

 **The Snake Mistress chuckled as she remembered Naruko's face two weeks ago, when she couldn't get into the Toji Clan's Armoury. She had gone comfort shopping later on, bought a beautifully made, razor sharp Tantō, and then fed it to the gauntlet.**

 **Anko hadn't been sure that a 12 inch knife was an appropriate weapon to add to the En'ō Kago-te, but had conceded that having a weapon that small that was also nigh indestructible could be more than slightly useful in the right circumstances.**

Tenten was torn between drooling at the possibilities and pouting at how unfair it was that she couldn't have a bunch of indestructable weapons like that. "Lucky..."

Naruto heard her and held back a bitter retort, partially out of respect to the girl and not wanting to aim his negative feeling at/on her, and partially because of what was said about his gambling luck.

 **"Hmmm…Has she made any attempt to learn a Bōjutsu style?" Sarutobi asked.**

 **"She's been looking in the Uzu Archives, but thus far has only found a couple of Hanbō (Half-Bō) styles and one Jō staff style." Anko replied.**

 **"Well, that won't do." Sarutobi said, "Not all that surprising really. The Uzumaki were the best swordsmen in the world, so I'd imagine most of the Bukijutsu styles in the Archive are ones to do with bladed weapons. I'll find a style for her from the Sarutobi Library for when she gets back."**

Naruto's head had turned to Tenten so fast it nearly gave him a whiplash as he turned on the Puppy Dog Eyes as full power, something he wasn't afraid to use on allies if it meant he'd get help with a skill that was a part of his clan.

Tenten lasted all of two seconds before she caved in "Alright! Alright! I'll help you! Just turn it off!"

Naruto would have fist pumped, but both of his arms were occupied by the girls next to him.

 **"Hokage-sama, you seem to be giving Genin Uzumaki a lot of help." Kurenai said carefully.**

 **"I suppose it looks like that, but all I am doing is redressing an imbalance." Sarutobi replied, "Had Kushina-chan survived the Day of the Kyūbi, Naruko would have been brought up as the Heiress of a Clan, rather than an orphan. She would have been taught everything she knows now, and more besides. In addition, I have been most remiss in my stewardship of her over the years and she has suffered tremendously."**

 **"Hokage-sama, I understand that, but at this rate, she will demoralise the other genin with her progress and arsenal of jutsu." Kurenai pointed out, "Not to mention the reaction that the Civilian Council is likely to have to you showing so much favour to a single genin, especially Naruko."**

 **"First, the council can take a long walk off of a high cliff.**

That got some chuckles from everyone.

 **"Second, all the jutsu I have given her have been in lieu of monetary rewards for completed missions.**

Kiba looked up, having gotten over his earlier embarrassment "Wait, we can do that?"

He got a shrug for an answer. "Not sure, you'd have to ask the Hokage. I doubt it would really be worth it until the higher ranked missions unless it was, like, several D-Ranks in favour of one or two C-Rank or lower jutsu."

 **"Thirdly, she has stated on several occasions that she is willing to give help to her teammates, and indeed her other friends among her graduating class, by giving them Taijutsu styles and jutsu." Sarutobi countered, "And finally, Naruko-chan has made a will bequeathing a fair few scrolls, and not inconsiderable portions of her funds, to most people she knows and likes…including the two of you."**

 **Anko muttered a curse. "Dammit…damn gaki doing stuff like this without my permission…" she muttered darkly.**

 **Kurenai was speechless for once. "I…" she began.**

A look of horror spread across the girls' faces, as well as some of the guys. The fact that Naruko already had a will... They felt even more guilt and sympathy for Naruto.

 **"We will discuss this another time." Sarutobi said impatiently, interrupting her. Kurenai was still a new Jonin, one not from a Clan and had little understanding of what such a position meant for someone growing up within one. The distilled history, traditions and honour of the Clan gradually shaped how the children of the Clan grew.**

 **Naruko had been denied this growing up and a certain Sandaime Hokage was determined to ensure she received it all she needed to rectify the problem, and a bit of extra help for compensation, as soon as possible.**

Naruto had tears streaming down his cheeks "Jiji..."

 **"You should get ready for the mission yourselves." Sarutobi told the two Kunoichi as he tossed a scroll to Anko, who caught it easily, "That scroll has maps, client details and the majority of the mission briefing for the C-Rank portion. Good luck."**

 **Recognising the dismissal, the two Jonin bowed and left the room, leaving the Hokage to sigh as he once more began his never-ending fight with his immortal SSS-class enemy.**

 **Paperwork.**

Those that had still had the expectation of the Hokage being a serious individual had faceplanted. It seems like they haven't learned their lesson yet, a trend that seemed to have spread to the other areas as well.

* * *

 **Half an Hour Later**

 **Konoha Front Gate**

 **"Grrrr!" Ino was growling in frustration as she paced back and forth. Hinata stood to one side, waiting quietly. Of Naruko, there was no sign.**

Ino had a twitchy eye hearing that. For all of the Ino's out there in the Multiverse who end up with Kakashi as a teacher, a moment of silence for her blood pressure.

 **Hence, Ino's impatient pacing.**

 **" _Again_?! She's late AGAIN!?" Ino screeched in fury, "This makes it the third time this _week_!"**

That twitch was starting to get worse. She did not like tardy people apparently.

 **"W-well…Naruko-chan does have to let the guards know not to let anyone in w-while we're gone." Hinata opined, "A-And she did tell me before we split up that she was going to Tenten-sempai's family shop to buy some more shuriken and kunai, s-so maybe there's a long line."**

 **"As a matter of fact, there was." Naruko said as she appeared in a basic _Shunshin_ , "But I also stocked up on bandages and some antivenin for you two. The southern part of Hi no Kuni has some nasty snakes."**

A lot of the group made a mental note if they get missions in that area to stock up on antivenin.

 **"Oh…" Ino was slightly taken aback. She had been getting supplies to help them? Now she felt bad for being angry with her.**

 **"I also had to stop by the Compound and grab a scroll." Naruko said proffering one in Ino's direction, "My clones finally found a taijutsu style that will suit Ino-chan to a T."**

 **Ino eagerly took the scroll and looked at the title. " _Hanabira no Mai_ (Dance of the Flower Petals)" she read.**

Ino had a deadpan as she heard this " _Really_...?"

Yuki deadpanned back " _Really_..."

 **"This…had _better_ not be a trick or a prank to play off of Anko-sensei's nickname for me." Ino warned her fellow blond.**

 **"Ino-chan, I wouldn't play such a mean prank on you!" Naruko said reproachfully, "See, it used to belong to a small Clan from Uzu called the Utahana Clan. They specialised in using plant-derived jutsu and this was their Taijutsu style. You have a very flexible body, Ino-chan, like a dancer. And that's what this style is all about, increasing the flexibility of the user's body and using it to dance around the opponent like a flower petal caught by the wind."**

Ino was in awe, that definitely sounded perfect for her. She was starting to get a bit giddy about this whole rewards thing now.

 **Ino and Hinata stared at Naruko in astonishment. "Naruko-chan…that was a very poetic way of putting it." Ino said at last.**

Ino agreed.

 **"I-It was." Hinata agreed.**

As did Hinata.

 **"R-Really?" Naruko blushed a bit, "It just…made sense to put it like that. I skimmed over the exercises and they seem fairly simple and not too strenuous. There are a couple you can practice while we move, for the arms at least."**

 **Ino hugged her friend hard and, for some reason, impulsively kissed her on the cheek, making Hinata's eyes widen in shock and Naruko instinctively returned the favour, which made the Hyūga Heiress faint at the sight.**

Sakura smirked at her friend as Ino and Naruto blushed lightly at their other kissing each other like that.

 **"Hinata-chan?!" Naruko yelped in shock as she raced over to catch her friend before she hit the ground.**

 **Ino was standing rock still, frozen in shock after Naruko's kiss on her cheek. 'I _…just_ kissed _her out of the blue…and she kissed me_ back _! Kami, what the_ hell's _going on with me?!_ ' she thought in a small panic.**

 **Anko had been watching the entire thing from a nearby rooftop, along with a disapproving Kurenai.**

 **"Heh…Hinata's got it bad." Anko chuckled, "And it looks like Flower Girl is developing a small crush on Naruko as well, though she doesn't seem to realise it yet. Things are getting _really_ interesting on this team."**

 **"I don't approve." Kurenai said frostily.**

 **"Nai-chan, they don't need your approval. Nor will they care about how you feel about lesbians and bisexuals once they wake up to how they actually feel." Anko said flatly, "You _really_ need to get laid. How about I lock you and Asuma in a broom closet when we get back?"**

"I find that rather ironic." Yuki spoke up, "In several worlds, Kurenai is often seen as the one with the Yuri relationship, usually with Anko."

While some of the Genin blushed, and Kiba got a nosebleed, it was much more interesting seeing what was going on with the senseis. Anko was making lewd comments and flirting/teasing Kurenai, who was trying the chastise Anko if it weren't for the fact that her heavy blush ruined it.

 **"Anko!" Kurenai said, shocked at how her friend was deliberately poking fun at her sort-of relationship with the son of the Third Hokage.**

The girls and Naruto snickered at Anko's teasing. Naruto even made a mental note to team up with Anko to get those two together.

 **"Nai-chan, it's getting ridiculous between you two." Anko told her bluntly, "You like him, he likes you. Yet you two act like damned Academy students on their first date _all the damn time_. If you keep dithering around like this, a more aggressive woman will swoop in at take him from you."**

 **"Like hell!" Kurenai snapped, her red eyes flashing angrily at the suggestion.**

 **Anko shrugged. "It's a fact. Whether you want to believe it or not is up to you. Now let's gather up our genin and get on the road." she said as she vanished in a _Konoha Shunshin_ and reappearing down by the genin**

 **Kurenai frowned before she also vanished in a puff of smoke. Anko was far too damned good at pushing her buttons, dammit.**

* * *

 **Three Hours into the Journey**

 **"This is bizarre." Anko remarked in frustration as they stopped for a rest. She had been studying the scroll that listed the mission details.**

 **"What is Anko-sensei?" Ino asked after she took a slug of water from a flask.**

 **"The profiles of the people who have been kidnapped." Anko replied, "I've been studying them to try and see a pattern, but there is none. A middle-aged butcher, a wealthy spinster, a five-year-old boy, a rebellious teenaged girl…almost every age group and class in a small village is represented here. It's like they're just being taken at complete random."**

 **Ino frowned now as well. "That _is_ odd." she said, "Daddy told me that the human mind is incapable of being truly random. There's always a pattern to this kind of thing."**

Ino nodded alon with her other, remembering that lession in particular.

 **Naruko looked over Anko's shoulder. "What if we're looking at the forest instead of the trees?" she asked.**

"Huh?" Ino asked, as she looked back and forth between Naruto and Yuki in confusion.

 **"Huh?" Ino asked, dumbfounded.**

Ino blushed when Yuki deadpanned at her. "Can I please read?"

 **"I mean, if you take the list as a whole, we can't see a pattern." Naruko explained, "Maybe if we break down the list by age and profession, a pattern will reveal itself."**

 **"Worth a try." Anko remarked. After scanning the list of missing people again for a moment, she nodded.**

 **" _Now_ there's a pattern." she said in a satisfied manner, "All the kids taken were either boys under the age of seven or girls under the age of ten. All the old people taken were approaching their mid-seventies. As for the teenagers, they were all over sixteen, but under nineteen. The final pattern is the working folks. None of them were over forty, but they were well past their late thirties."**

 **Anko looked up to meet the grim eyes of Kurenai. "Going by this little discovery, there isn't a single band of kidnappers…there's _four_ of them."**

Dun Dun DUUUUUUNNN! The genin all jumped at the sudden cliché dramatic reveal music played out of nowhere. Or maybe it was the lightning flash and crashing thunder...

* * *

 **Later that Evening**

 **The group of kunoichi stopped for the night and set up camp. After completing her share of the camp chores, Ino decided to start learning her new Taijutsu style in the remaining light of the day.**

Ino was paying close attention to the screen in front of her, taking in her other going through the kata. Just looking at it left her in giddy awe, especially considering that she'd get the chance to learn it. For once she was actually looking forward to training.

 **The first thing about _Hanabira no Mai_ was that it relied on constant movement. The initial and most used form, the _Hiben_ (Flying Petal), was constant movement in order to avoid being static and easily attacked and to mislead and fool the opponent, leaving them open to counter attack.**

 **The movement was in a constant triangular pattern, so it was actually fairly easy to do, but damn if it wasn't tiring. Ino did feel slightly silly dancing around like this, but it was a necessary step to learn the rest.**

 **The _Hiben_ also had a specific movement for the arms to go into whenever her feet were parallel, into a position similar to the Horse Stance. The scroll called this the ' _Kakōshi_ (Flower Lattice)' guard position.**

The screen split so the left half continued playing pictures of what was happening, while the right half played an almost cartoon depiction of what the style was calling for, and showig how effective it is in combat. Ino was mesmirized.

 **She got Naruko, or rather a _clone_ of Naruko, to help her correct her footing whenever she made a misstep. She had to commit this style to muscle memory in order for it to be effective. She was surprised at how easily it seemed to come to her. Naruko hadn't been kidding that this style would fit her to a T.**

A giggle got everyone's attention as they looked at Ino, who hadn't noticed and was acting like a kid before they got to open birthday presents, or herself when she got a juicy piece of gossip.

 ** _'She must have studied the way I moved in both casual activities and during spars to find this style for me.'_ Ino thought as she repeated the _Hiben_ yet again, making sure that her arms moved in a flexible, yet strong way when not in the _Kakōshi_ position.**

 **She wasn't sure how she felt about Naruko constantly watching her, but this style, from what she had gleaned from a quick skim of the scroll, was perfect for her, allowing her to make good use of her long and flexible legs as kicks made up the vast majority of the attacks in _Hanabira no Mai_.**

 ** _'I'll have to ask Naruko-chan about how she determined this style would fit me…then either kick her ass or buy her a new wardrobe as a thank her depending on the answer she gives.'_ Ino decided as she began the form yet again.**

The genin turned back to the story and ignored Ino, who was lost in her own world for the moment.

 **With Hinata…**

 **Hinata flowed through an intermediate _Jūho_ kata with practiced ease, each movement precise and as close to perfect as she could get it. She smiled grimly as she recalled the looks of near apoplexy that the Clan Elders had had as her father presented the elaborately carved and lacquered cedar box filled with her mother's Taijutsu Style.**

 **She remembered the words he had whispered to her as he gave them to her, _'Your mother would be so proud of you, as am I. Now, go and make us even prouder by mastering Hitomi's style.'_**

Hinata was confused, _'That's not mother's name...'_ It didn't cross her mind until just now since the last time it was mentioned she was suitably distracted.

Yuki obviously picked it up on her question "There are many worlds out there where the names of people have either changed to suit the higher power's needs, or because the name... wasn't exactly given. Mizuki's last name, Sakura's parents for the most part, the names of Naruto's parents at one point. I think one of the more known example's is Tenten."

Tenten pointed at herself "Me?"

Yuki nodded "Yup. Your history is prone to change around. Either your parent's own a blacksmith shop or you're an orphan. In the orphan timelines, you're seen as Naruto's adoptive big sister, or you get adopted into the aformentioned blacksmith family or both. It stems from your lack of Family name, or if you have one, that it isn't really mentioned. Popular response or 'Fanon' tends to give you the family name 'Higurshi' as the most popular one."

Tenten took all of that in and mumbled the name to herself. She was indeed an orphan and 'Tenten Higurashi' had a nice feel to it.

 **Her father, Hyūga Hiashi, the coldest and most emotionless Hyūga in the Clan, aside from the Elders themselves, had told her that he was _proud_ of her. That had been one of the _best_ days in Hinata's life, one she would remember fondly.**

Hinata was torn between blushing and looking hopeful. She wanted that too...

Naruto thought she looked cute like that.

Yuki was holding back from chuckling. Nobody realized it, but Hinata's expression was the same as the kitten meme 'Can I haz cheezburger?'

 **Laughing to herself about that one Elder who had actually fainted from outrage was a good reason for it as well.**

 **"Well done, Hinata." Kurenai said approvingly. Hinata blushed at her praise. She considered Kurenai to be like a second mother after she had acted as her escort to and from the Academy when she was younger. She was one of Hinata's role models and to be praised by her was only slightly less faint inducing than being in extremely close proximity to Naruko.**

Both Naruto and Hinata blushed as the others sent knowing smirks in their direction.

 **"A-Arigato, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata replied with a tentative smile, "I'm just…suited for this style. I can't put it any other way."**

 **"Sometimes, you find things that just click like that." Kurenai said wisely, "They don't come around often, but when they do, it's always a blessing."**

 **"Hai." Hinata nodded, "I would also like to l-learn another genjutsu, i-if that is alright with you."**

 **Kurenai smiled. "Of course. I think I might have just the one for you. _Genjutsu: Henkō Jikan_ (Illusion: Altered Time)."**

 **With Naruko…**

 **"Alright Gaki," Anko said, "The handsigns for the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ are: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, after you have drawn blood."**

 **Anko demonstrated it. She bit her thumb, weaved the five handsigns and slammed her hand on the ground.**

 **" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!" she announced as a cloud of chakra smoke erupted from where Anko's hand had struck. After it cleared, a five-foot long purple snake was coiled there.**

 **"Missstresss Anko." the snake hissed, "How may I sssserve you?"**

 **"Just demonstrating the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ to my student here, Serena." Anko replied as she gestured at Naruko.**

 **The snake sniffed in the blonde's direction. "A faint trace of the monkey'sssss ssssscent." Serena hissed, "But not a proper Contract. What isss the meaning of thissss?"**

 **Naruko revealed her gauntlet. "It's because of this gauntlet." she explained, "The Contract is with the gauntlet, rather than with me personally. I just get to make use of it."**

 **Serena cocked her head to the side and advanced on Naruko. Naruko tensed slightly, but made no threatening moves towards the snake.**

 **"Hmmm." the purple snake mused, "You are sssstrong. You would make a worthy Contactor, but I ssssenssssse that other Contracts are in your future. Both run strong in your blood, I can ssssmell them."**

 **"There are? They do?" Naruko asked in surprise.**

Naruto perked up at that "Other contracts?"

Yuki nodded "Your dad was the holder of the Toad contract, the same one currently held by his teacher Jiraya of the Sannin. Your mother however varies depending on what world it is. Some have it that she wasn't that good at Ninjutsu and never had a contract, focusing more on Kenjutsu and her _Kongō Fūsa_ (Adamantine Sealing Chains). Those that do have her with a contract vary between holding the contract for Fox, Dragon, Phoenix... There was one they actually had a contract for Ponies believe it or not."

 **"Ahhhh…I ssssee." Serena hissed, "This sssscent isss familiar to me. You are Uzumaki Kushina'sssss daughter, are you not?"**

 **"Y-Yes." Naruko replied.**

 **"Then it isssss the Crow Contract that I ssssmell on you." Serena said with a hissing laughter, "The Uzumaki were the original holder'ssss of that contract, but the only sssssummoner of them now issss the Clan Killer, and he cannot ussssse the full power of the Contract asss he only sssssigned a partial Contract."**

 **"Itachi-nii." Naruko muttered,**

That got Sasuke's attention "What?"

Yuki looked over at the boy "It seems that in this world, Itachi was given a provisional contract with the crows from Naruto's mother, his sensei I believe. It's that world's source for his crow jutsu."

 **"Do…do you know where the Crow Contract is currently located?"**

 **"I do not." Serena replied, "The Sssssnake Clan and the Crow Clan do not mix. They are prey, we are the predatorssss. The Monkey Clan, however, should be able to act assss intermediariessss."**

 **Naruko bowed. "Thank you for your help, Serena."**

 **Serena gave another hissing laugh. "A polite human? How ssstrange the world becomesssss." she remarked before returning to her realm with a puff of smoke.**

 **Anko shook her head in wonderment. "Naru-chan, you just scared the crap out of me. The Snakes take contracts _very_ seriously. If she hadn't liked what you said, she would have bitten you. And Serena's a Viper!"**

 **"I'm resistant to poisons." Naruko deadpanned, "Besides, I…kinda liked Serena. She seems to be blunt and straightforward, but I also get the impression that she listens to everything people say and how they say it before making a judgement."**

Naruto nodded along, although nobody really liked just how Naruto/Naruko became resistant to said poisons.

 **"True." Anko conceded, "That's Serena to a T. You ever consider working in T &I?"**

 **"Only if I have to." Naruko wrinkled her nose, "No offence, but my clones have to practically disinfect the whole Estate every time you come back from working there."**

 **"Occupational hazard kid." Anko replied, "It's amazing what humans can become used to, from lousy jobs to pervading smells."**

 **"I'd rather not have to deal with that regularly." Naruko remarked, "Besides, I like the outdoors. I used to do a bit of hunting when I was younger when the shop owners were being real temes."**

Kiba perked up when he heard 'hunting'. Naruto however was mentally kicking himself for not thinking about that, it would have kept him from starving so much when he was little.

 **"…Remind me to have a word with Hokage-sama when we get back to Konoha, Naru-chan." Anko said quietly.**

 **"Over and done with now, An-chan."**

 **"Still gonna talk to him."**

* * *

 **The Next Day, 12.00 pm**

 **Northern Forest Road Entrance, Morimura Area**

 **"Okay." Ino deadpanned as she gestured at the forest before them, "That really looks creepy."**

 **She had a point. The trees on both sides of the road were gnarled oaks. They looked ancient and very, very creepy as they were stooped, discoloured and unhealthy looking, with very few leaves remaining on their unusually spindly branches. To each side of the road were stone boundary markers with the symbol of the Kashi Clan on them, the Kanji for oak, '樫' within a circle.**

Some of the others had deadpan expressions as well after seeing the picture "Agreed."

 **"These…trees aren't normal." Naruko said firmly. She was visibly sweating and was far paler than she normally was. Hinata noticed this.**

 **"N-Naruko-chan, are you alright? You look unwell." The bluenette asked softly.**

 **"Eh? Oh, y-yeah." Naruko replied with a gulp, "It's just…these trees are giving me a funny feeling."**

 **"Funny?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"Like…like they're letting off an evil aura." Naruko said as she tried to put how she felt into words, "They aren't natural. Someone caused them to be like this and whatever they've done to them is making me feel nauseous."**

Naruto was just as nauseous as his other just looking at it through a picture. Yuki stopped for a moment and gave him some Pepto Bismol to drink to help settle it.

Naruto looked down into the plastic medicine cup he just finished with a confused look on his face, "Tastes like pink..."

 **Anko and Kurenai shared a glance. Very little actually phased Naruko, whether it be impending death from a rogue jonin or being chased by an angry mob of ANBU after one of her pranks, such as the legendary itching-powder-in-the-underwear incident, so for this forest to be bugging Naruko this much was cause for concern.**

Some of the Genin remembered that incident, if their snickering was anything to go by.

 **"Alright. Duly noted." Kurenai said with a frown, "Alright team, we are in possible bandit territory now, so Naruko and Hinata will take point, Ino and Anko behind them, with me bringing up the rear. Move out!"**

 **"Hai!" the genin responded and moved into the formation Kurenai had ordered. With Hinata's _Byakugan_ and Naruko's nigh Inuzuka-level hearing as an early warning system on point, it was unlikely anyone could attack from the front. Anko and Ino could back them up in case of an attack and Kurenai used several minor auditory enhancements to make it so she could detect anything unusual as she took up the rear position.**

 **Moving at a slow jog, Team 8 entered the forest and were swallowed by the gloom after only ten feet.**

The genin got nervous when they heard voices coming from the room they were in:

"I've got a baaaad feeling about this..." "You've always got a bad feeling about everything."

* * *

 **With** **ANBU Teams Neko and Saru…**

 **Ten meters behind Team 8, Uzuki Yūgao, aka ANBU member Neko, frowned behind her mask. She had heard what Naruko had said and agreed with her. There was no way a natural forest in fertile ground like this, in a region with frequent rainfall, should look like this.**

That feeling of worry from earlier was back.

 **Unless someone has been messing around with it.**

It was back with a vengeance.

 **"Neko-san, what should we do?" asked Inu.**

 **Neko looked at the man incredulously, which was lost on him due to her mask. "We continue to follow them as ordered of course." she replied sharply.**

 **"No I mean, the road has disappeared." Inu replied, pointing at where Team 8 had entered the forest. Neko swung around to see what he was blabbering about. Roads didn't just vanish….**

 **…Like this one seemingly had. Neko stared. Where there had once been a dirt road for horse and cart, there was nothing except trees. The boundary stones were still there, but there were more of them. They seemed to be spaced a meter apart and the Clan symbol was glowing a sickly green colour. The air seemed to shimmer around them.**

The kids did not like how this was turning out, especially with the fidgeting that was going on. Yuki mused that it was like kids back home playing a horror game, ready to jump in their seats and scream in fright at the first jump scare.

 **"…Shit." Neko cursed. A kekkai. It almost _had_ to be an incredibly powerful kekkai, albeit rather crudely done. She would be willing to bet that it only granted safe passage to those whom the user wanted and that any attempt to breach it would set off alarms that would swamp her two teams with enemies, and quite possibly cause the deaths of Team 8.**

 **"Ryū, head back to Konoha at full speed and inform Hokage-sama about this development," Neko ordered briskly, "Saru, your team is to circumnavigate the forest. Try to find a hole in the kekkai and send word to me when and if you find one. The rest of my team will remain here and examine these boundary stones for clues on how to break or bypass the kekkai. Move out!"**

 **In an instant, most of the ANBU vanished in a flash, leaving Neko, along with two others, staring at where their charges had vanished.**

 ** _'I really hope they are going to be alright in there.'_ Neko though with a sigh as she walked over to begin her examination of the stones, _'Otherwise Hokage-sama is going to have my hide for this.'_**

Definitely not liking how their other's mission is going.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, back with Team 8...**

 **"We're being watched." Naruko said softly. They were moving slightly faster**

 **"Any sign of who's doing the watching?" Anko replied just as quietly.**

 **"No, there's no-one within range of my _Byakugan_." Hinata answered for Naruko, "But that's…not important right now. These trees are filled with chakra, so much of it that it is impossible for me to see through them. Naruko-chan was right, these are _not_ natural trees."**

 **"The _trees_ have _chakra_?" Ino asked disbelievingly as they rounded a bend, "That's not possible."**

 **"It is actually." Anko corrected, "Jiraya of the Sannin can use a special kind of ninjutsu, _Senjutsu_ (Sage Jutsu) that allows him to draw on a special kind of chakra called 'Natural Energy' from the world around him. That takes years of training and discipline to learn though, and I've never heard of a _tree_ using Senjutsu. Someone's altered them somehow."**

The genin looked at Yuki, forcing him to pause his reading to explain.

"Ok, here's what I know. Senjutsu is the act of absorbing natural energy to augment yourself. Roughly you'd want to absorb natural energy equal to half of your chakra reserves, any less and you won't be able to use it, anymore and you become too close to nature and your body turns to stone. And it's a razor fine line that it actually works at." Yuki told them solemnly, driving the dangers home. "It's usually taught by the summoning clans, although I've only seen Toad and Snake sages, so I don't know if all of them do it or just those two. The only people in history, that I know of, that gained and perfected Senjutsu without a summoning contract are Hashirama Senju, and Hagoromo Ootsutsuki, otherwise known as the Sage of Six Paths."

With that said, Yuki went back to the story.

 **"Stay alert!" Kurenai warned, "There's a castle over there."**

 **Indeed, the lofty heights of a castle towered over the surrounding forest. Its black tiles contrasted sharply with the golden decorations on the roof. Hinata activated her Kekkei Genkai for a moment.**

 **"That castle is a-abandoned." Hinata reported, "From what little I can see, it was taken in a siege. There are signs of both s-samurai-style earthworks and small signs of what could be old ninja engagements across this side of the castle."**

 **"Guess the Kashi Clan was conquered by one of the other three Clans." Anko said with a shrug.**

 **"What's o-odd is that the damage is several years old." Hinata continued, "There is no sign of any r-repairs to the damage, nor are the walls in a good s-state of upkeep. The entire castle looks as if it was abandoned after it was conquered."**

 **"That makes no sense." Ino said as she ran, "In an area like this, the more fortified positions you hold, and the better. No-one would simply abandon a freshly conquered castle!"**

"Unless it wasn't the castle the invaders were after..." The mutterings of Naruto, surprising enough, shocked a few of the other genin, especially at how dark the comment was. It also sent Shikamaru's mind into hyperdrive as he processed everything so far with the mission.

 **"Hinata, are there any signs of old corpses?" Kurenai asked.**

 **The Hyūga Heiress focused for a moment. "No…none at all."**

 **"This is getting more and more bizarre." the raven haired kunoichi muttered, "Lets pick up the pace and get to the village. I do not want to have to spend the night in these woods unless it's absolutely necessary."**

 **"With you there." Naruko muttered as she sped up. That feeling of being watched had just became more pronounced as they spoke and the Uzumaki Heiress was eager to get this mission over with and get back to Konoha ASAP.**

Naruto was just as anxious to get this mission over with as his other was.

* * *

 **Hidden Chamber, Unknown Location**

 **A woman wearing an extravagantly expensive kimono sat in the centre of the chamber, her back to the wall. Her hair was pure black and pooled around her in an elegant, waterfalling princess style. She maintained a meditative state and kept her eyes closed as she breathed evenly.**

 **Her elegant hands in an unusual handsign. The pinkies, index fingers and thumbs are extended and connected at the tips, while the last two fingers are folded up and pressed together. Waves of chakra came off her as she concentrated.**

Yuki cut off the question before it could be asked. "No, I don't know what that hand sign is called or what it even does. It could have as much use as Shikamaru's thinking pose for all I know."

 **"Sae-sama." a voice calls to her from the entrance to the chamber.**

 **"What is it, Kogorō?" the woman spoke in a deep voice that was tinged with arrogance.**

 **"The Konoha ninja have arrived and we have sealed the barrier behind them. They are trapped." the voice reported in a monotone.**

 **"I know." Sae smirked, "I have been watching them. One seems to sense my presence, although not who I am or how I am doing it. Are the preparations complete?"**

 **"Saeko-sama sends her apologies. It will take another hour before everything is ready." Kogorō reported, "What are your orders, Sae-sama?"**

 **"Pah!" Sae spat, "Useless sister! Fine. My orders are this: Capture all of the Konoha scum and bring them here. We will prepare them for the ritual in advance after sealing their chakra. Then my plan will bloom to fruition, and Hi no Kuni shall fall to the Yanagi!"**

And the scowls are back. None more so than those that are a part of the story's team 8.

 **"By your command." Kogorō replied and his presence faded from the doorway.**

 **"Soon… _very_ soon." the woman known as Yanagi Sae whispered as she opened her eyes, revealing azure orbs infected by the manic light of a fanatic, "My revenge…my life…this world…shall all end!"**

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, the picture he was putting together was not something good, and he was liking it less and less the more information he got.

* * *

 **Half an Hour Later**

 **Morimura Village Gate**

 **Team 8 stood outside a solid wooden palisade that was presumably Morimura Village's protection against wild animals. They located the gate and had been pounding on it for the last ten minutes, with no reply.**

 **The entire village area was surprisingly quiet. No animals braying, no sounds of children playing, no human voices of any sort. It was eerie and set the Team's nerves on edge.**

 **"Hinata, use the _Byakugan_ and tell us what the hell is going on in there." Anko ordered in frustration.**

 **The Hyūga Heiress complied, and then gasped, "The village has been sacked!"**

The mood was starting to drop like it did back at the beginning of the story. It was going to take something drastic to keep Angst from spontaneously sprouting if this kept up.

 **In a flash, Naruko and Anko had ran up the wooden palisade and perched on the top of the wall, swiftly joined by the rest of Team 8.**

 **What they saw was not good. 'Sacked' was actually a mild term to describe the state of the village.**

 **The buildings looked as if they had been ripped apart…from the _inside_. Scattered remnants of stone and wood littered the ground, doors were broken into pieces, handcarts were smashed and a few shattered spears marked a point where the villagers had likely tried to muster a defence of sorts against whatever had attacked them.**

There were horrified gasps from the girls as Naruto held them close in an attempt to comfort them. He was torn between being horrified himself and rage at whoever did it, knowing it was most likely that Sae chick.

 **"Sweet kami, what the hell happened here?!" Ino exclaimed.**

 **"Nothing good." Kurenai said grimly, "Right, let's investigate. Look for survivors, but don't split up!"**

 **The five kunoichi cautiously began searching the village ruins. The damage looked recent, no older than a week at most. The houses they checked had severe damage to the interiors and looked like they had been hit with a Futon jutsu. Chairs, tables and beds were destroyed, especially the legs, and there were holes in the floors, some as big as a fist, some the size of a horse.**

 **The site where the remains of spears lay had no blood at all, which was odd. Even a barely trained group of villagers should have drawn some blood against a flesh-and-blood opponent when armed with spears.**

 **The way the spears had been destroyed was unusual as well. They hadn't been cut into pieces, they had been crushed and ripped into pieces as if a giant had picked them up and clenched its fist.**

 **"The more we look around, the more I think we should get outta here." Naruko said nervously as she knelt on the ground examining a spearhead. The steel point had been twisted almost beyond all recognition.**

 **"I agree." Kurenai said, "This is far beyond our missions parameters. Though it baffles and concerns me as to what happened here, the best thing to do is return to Konoha and report this to Hokage-sama so he can launch a proper investigation."**

 **"I cannot allow you to do that, I'm afraid." a low monotone of a voice said from the left of the group. Anko spun and drew a kunai.**

 **From the earth, a man emerged. He had close-cropped brown hair and wore a black kimono. Over where the heart would be, was a Clan symbol. It was the Kanji '柳' (Willow). Dark cords of some sort sprouted from his back and delved into the earth. When he opened his eyes, the team were startled. They were utterly blank, as if he had no soul.**

While the group were almost revolted by the look in the man's eyes, Yuki was a different matter. "Considering what is going on, I wouldn't be surprised, or it could be something like what Danzo tried to do, only from birth..."

Yuki's mutterings thankfully went unheard as he continued onwards.

 **"I am Inaba Kogorō, retainer of the Yanagi Clan." The man said in the same low monotone, "You will surrender now and lay down your weapons."**

 **"We are official Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato." Kurenai replied in a hard voice, "The Yanagi Clan doesn't have the authority to command us in anything."**

 **"I must defeat you then." The man who called himself Kogorō sighed in disappointment and he formed an odd handsign.**

 **" _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Shihyō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Tree Demon: Corpse Possession Jutsu!)" He intoned.**

 **The ground began shaking as he completed his jutsu. A hand erupted from the earth near Ino, who shrieked and leapt away. More of the body emerged, until the body of a man emerged from the earth wearing the usual clothes of a civilian villager. Its face was slack, its eyes were sightless and the skin a bloodless, deathly pale hue. It was a corpse, with a bundle of black cords, that were actually roots now that Team 8 had a chance to look closer, embedded in its back.**

The girls (minus Tenten) screamed and clung to Naruto at the sight of the Zombies while those that didn't looked green, and I'm not referring to Lee's jumpsuit.

"Cause this is thriller... thriller night..." Yuki sung under his breath, he was kinda getting a kick out of their reactions.

 **Other corpses followed the first from the ground until Team 8 was surrounded by at least twenty of them, all wearing clothes that proclaimed that they had been ordinary villagers in life.**

 **"What kind of sick _fuck_ are you?!" Anko snarled in disgust.**

 **"I am a retainer of the Yanagi Clan." Kogorō said serenely, "Mere Hidden Village ninja like yourselves cannot comprehend the majesty of the Yanagi Clan's plans. Any means I use have been given the blessing of Sae-sama and thus, such trifles as morality are of no concern to me."**

Yuki snorted, catching everyone's attention. He decided to clarify "His attitude reminds me of the 'frog in a well' story, specifically something I refer to as 'Little Dog Syndrome.'" Kiba snorted at the humour but it went over everyone else's heads, so Yuki explained "Dogs have self-size identification issues. Big dog breeds tend to think they can play like they're puppies and unless properly trained will usually end up breaking things. On the other hand, little dog breeds have an inflated sense of self-worth and, again unless trained properly, have large ego's and, pardon my language, think their big shit when they aren't."

Those that thought about it chuckled to themselves. The term definitely fit... and could explain Kiba's attitude back at the academy half the time...

 **"Insane fool." Kurenai said tightly, "Kinjutsu like this are forbidden for a reason, moral or otherwise."**

 **The man smiled genially, "That was Sae-sama's decision, not mine. I am a mere agent of her will, and her will is that you be brought before her. I once again urge you to surrender."**

 **"Like hell, you twisted freak!" Naruko snarled and formed the Monkey handsign.**

 **" _En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kongōgatana_!" She snarled, transforming the gauntlet into its sword form.**

 **"You are going to regret this." she shouted at the man and charged him.**

 **The man merely shifted his hands to another handsign that resembled an inverted Bird Handsign and said, " _Kōgeki Kaishi_! (Commence Attack!)"**

Yuki was fighting back a full on grin at this point. It was like watching the audience reactions in a horror movie showing at the theatre. Which in some cases was more entertaining than the movie in question in his opinion.

 **The crowd of corpses lurched into motion and blocked Naruko's path, reaching for her with clawing hands. Naruko's Adamantine Katana flashed as she whirled it in a figure of eight before her, slicing hands off the army of corpses as fast as they came into range.**

 **The undead puppets stopped their attack, allowing Naruko to leap back, breathing heavily. Roots emerged from the dead flesh where Naruko had severed the limbs of the bodies and reached down for the missing appendages, inserting themselves into the severed hands and retracting, bringing the hands back to the bodies.**

 **While all this was happening, Team 8 was staring in morbid fascination at the mass limb reattachment they were seeing before them. Ino and Hinata looked green as they watched, Naruko disbelieving and Anko and Kurenai had their eyes narrowed as they watched, attempting to puzzle out how it was happening.**

Yuki had pulled a bucket of popcorn out and tossed a couple into his mouth. The Genin's eyes were fixated on the screen next to him as they watched the action play out.

 **"A fruitless attempt." Kogorō commented from behind the wall of corpses, "This jutsu is completely invincible, no matter what you try. Weapons, jutsu…there is nothing that can defeat it. Give up."**

The Genin jumped when the voice of an older Naruto sounded out "Give up... on making me give up!"

That was when the group noticed that Yuki was watching them with a tub of popcorn by his side "What?"

 **Anko suddenly made the Tiger handsign as she shouted, "Naru-chan, JUMP!"**

 **Naruko didn't hesitate to leap into the air as soon as she heard the order, leaving Anko with a clear shot at the corpses.**

 **" _Katon: Karyūdan no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!)" Anko snarled as she unleashed a giant stream of fire at the enemy corpses. The undead puppets didn't move an iota as the flames drew close and then engulfed them in an inferno.**

 **"You got them Anko-sensei!" Naruko shouted as she landed.**

 **"Nope, just charred them." Anko replied with a frown as the corpses shambled out of the blaze, still on fire, but unaffected by it.**

 **"Let's try _really_ turning up the heat," Naruko growled, "Everyone fall back! You do _not_ want to be caught in this! _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"**

 **As fifty or so clones appeared, Team 8 fell back. Naruko then shouted, " _Jinkei: Bunshin Kōheki_ (Formation: Clone Offensive Wall!)"**

 **The clones leapt atop each other's shoulders until they formed a wall between Team 8 and the approaching corpse army.**

 **"Let 'em have it!" Naruko ordered. The clones started running through handsigns.**

 **" _Katon: Takibi no Jutsu_!" half the wall intoned, unleashing twenty odd fireballs at the corpses.**

 **A few seconds later, the second half unleashed their jutsu, " _Fūton: Fūrō no Jutsu_! (Wind Style: Wind Waves Jutsu!)", launching three blasts of wind each at the fire jutsu in front of them.**

 **When the first blasts struck the _Takibi_ , they swelled up to three times their original size. When the second wave hit, they tripled in size again. When the final wave hit the fire jutsu, they tripled once again, becoming a sheer wall of flames that struck the corpses like a giant's fist, sending them flying and burning a few to a crisp on impact.**

Sasuke's inner Pyro was screaming at him that he _had_ to learn something like that.

Yuki had gone back to singing to himself "And another one gone, another one gone, another one bites the dust..."

 **Kogorō had taken shelter beneath the earth when he saw the massive wall of flames heading towards the corpses before him, and now returned to above ground. Seeing the corpse army scattered hither and yon, he sniffed dismissively.**

 **"A worthy effort, I will admit." he said emotionlessly, "The four chunin two years ago did not fair nearly as well. But now, I am afraid, it is time for you to fall."**

"And again the LDS picks up. Any attack used would be openly dismissed, even if it was strong enough to kill him or his boss unless it was used on him, and then its disbelief that such a thing would work on him... It's Frieza all over again..."

Nobody really wanted to comment on who Frieza was at that moment.

 **He made a series of strange handsigns and said, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Meido Jubaku no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Tree Demon: Underworld Tree Binding Jutsu!)"**

 **The ground trembled again and erupted with roots grasping for the members of Team 8. Anko and Kurenai slashed at the roots with kunai, but found that they were unable to cut through the thick bark around the roots, so ended up dodging the roots like a mad pair of dancers.**

 **Hinata tried to use her _Jūho_ on the roots and found that a single jab did in fact stop them - for five seconds. She began to slowly retreat whilst weaving a deadly web of _Jūho_ strikes, using absolute economy of movement to deal with every single encroaching root.**

 **Ino fell back to the old standby for dealing with something you couldn't fight: ran like all the hounds of hell were after her, jumping dodging, jinking and essentially getting a good gymnastics workout out of the whole ordeal.**

 **Naruko, unlike her teammates, found that her weapon, made of the legendary metal Adamantine, was very effective against the roots, cutting them down like weeds. She immediately went on the offensive, striking out at the roots attacking Ino, in order to give her friend some breathing room.**

 **Kogorō frowned at the sight. _'No weapon should be able to cut the roots of the Mashinju (Demon God Tree) as they are clad in chakra enhanced bark and as strong as solid steel pipes. What sorcery is this? What sort of blade does she wield that can do this?'_ he thought angrily.**

"And he forgot one very important rule of combat: Absolute power does not exist. There will always be someone out there stronger than you."

 **"Take THAT!" Naruko shouted as she cut down another dozen roots lancing in to attack Hinata from her back, before leaping over to where Anko and Kurenai were dodging the roots.**

 **"Enough of this foolishness." Kogorō said coldly, "Girl, it seems you are the one I must deal with first. Prepare to die."**

 ** _'I hope Sae-sama forgives me for killing one of the sacrifices.'_ he thought with a slight shiver of fear at the thought of his mistress's displeasure.**

The girls were torn between being disgruntled by the fact that he was more afraid of displeasing a weak girl (by the looks of it) instead of the deadly Kunoichi in front of him, and scared for Naruko's life. They at least had Yuki's reassurance that nobody would die, but the fear was still there.

 **Naruko cut down the last of the assailing roots and snorted, only slightly out of breath, "Tch, yeah right. All you have are your corpse army and some funky plants. When you feel like getting serious, let me know."**

 **"Consider me serious right now." Kogorō said darkly as he weaved more handsigns, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu Ōgi: Mokki: Jarinma no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu, Ultimate Technique: Tree Demon: Evil Forest Demon Jutsu!)"**

 **As soon as he uttered those words, a large number of roots rose from the ground and wrapped him in a cocoon, dragging him beneath the surface.**

 **Naruko had a bad feeling about this. She looked over to Kurenai and Anko and shouted, "Anko-sensei! This guy's focussing on trying to kill me right now! Get the others out of here! I'll hold him off as long as I can and join up with you!"**

The girls were clinging to Naruto in worry, and Kiba would have been jealous right now if he wasn't among those that were worried. Chōji on the other hand, looked like he was about to give up on food and snack on his fingernails instead.

 **Ino and Hinata flashed back to the attack on their team made by Yamanaka Haruo. She had sounded exactly like this just before Haruo unleashed the _Gōryūka no Jutsu_ and almost killed her.**

 **Anko looked rebellious at the idea, but Kurenai gripped her shoulder and shook her head. "Understood, Genin Uzumaki." Kurenai said formally, "Make certain that you do re-join us, or Anko will not be happy at the prospect of having to finding a new house to rent."**

That broke the atmosphere in the room a bit, as everyone was looking at the Kurenai on the screen in disbelief _'Naruto's/My other is going into a life or death situation and you have to joke about it?!'_

 **Naruko grinned. "I've got it covered. Get Hinata-chan and Ino-chan out of here!"**

 **Kurenai and a reluctant Anko grabbed the other two genin around their waists and leapt over the palisade. Naruko breathed out a sigh of relief. Her friends were safe. Now to deal with whatever this bastard was thinking up.**

 **The ground rumbled yet again, as whatever jutsu it was that the Retainer of the Yanagi Clan had used completed itself. The earth cracked, split and was sundered into pieces as a giant… _thing_ made of roots rose up from beneath the village, making Naruko gape in shock.**

 **The…creature?…construct?…whatever it was, was vaguely humanoid in appearance, although the legs were short and the arms were misshapen, being at least twice as long as it's height, which was a good ten feet high. It had a face, but Naruko doubted somehow that it could see in the conventional sense.**

 **"So, you stayed behind in order to cover your comrades' retreat?" a hideous voice boomed from the construct, "Admirable, but ultimately a futile gesture. Sae-sama is one with the forest. Anywhere that there are leaves in this forest, she had both eyes and ears. Your friends cannot escape."**

 **"…Kogorō?" Naruko said blankly, "What in Kami's name have you done to yourself?"**

 **"I am now one with the forest," Kogorō -or the thing that used to be Kogorō- boomed, "And thus, I am also one with Sae-sama. She has bestowed upon me this great power in order to crush you, the only one who has ever cut the roots of the Mashinju."**

 **"Well now, isn't _that_ an honour?" Naruko remarked sarcastically as she set herself into a sword stance, "Are we going to talk all day, or are you going to hurry up and die?"**

 **"Insolent fool, you cannot hope to overcome me," Kogorō scoffed, "I am beyond humanity now. You cannot kill me anymore than you can destroy nature."**

Yuki snorted again, once again catching everyone's attention "I've seen worlds where Humanity had done a damn good job at doing just that. On purpose or otherwise..."

 **Naruko scowled at the stupidity of the former human, "We won't know unless we fight, and you seem to be trying to _talk_ me to death rather than fight me!"**

 **"Die then, you insignificant insect!" Kogorō roared in fury as he launched his whip-like upper limbs at her with surprising speed for someone of his size. Naruko dodged to the side and readied herself for a long fight.**

 **"Here I come, you monster!" she yelled as she charged forwards.**

 **The resulting clash echoed throughout the whole forest.**

* * *

Everyone held their breaths as they waited with baited breath (which was also held) as to what would happen next...

 **With the rest of Team 8...**

...and promptly facefaulted into the ground. " _Seriously!?_ " Yuki's only response was to grin at them and resume reading.

 **[BOOOOM!]**

 **Ino flinched as she ran when she heard the crash from behind her, where her friend was fighting for her life against who knows what.**

 **"Dammit!" Anko growled, "What're we going to do, Nai-chan? The road's vanished!"**

 **"We have to get out of the forest!" Kurenai replied, "That man back there used several jutsu that use tree roots as a medium. That means that whoever 'Sae-sama' is, she has been watching us from the moment we entered the forest."**

 **"You mean Naruko-chan's feeling of being watched?" Ino asked.**

 **"Exactly." Kurenai replied, "The best thing for us to do is to get to a place with the least amount of vegetation. It will limit the abilities of our enemy and provide a safe place to plan out counterattack from."**

 **"What about Naruko-chan?" Hinata asked.**

 **"I'm sorry to say that she's on her own for now." Kurenai said as they paused in a clearing, "That man was homing in on her as a target, probably because she could cut those roots that attacked us. He'll try and kill her as fast as possible and then come after us."**

 **"But…!" Hinata's face was contorted with distress.**

"But...!" Hinata's face matched that of her story self.

Yuki deadpanned at Hinata "You're sitting on it."

 **"Naru-chan'll be fine." Anko said suddenly, "She's too damn good to lose to a cheap hack like Kogorō."**

 **"Exactly." Kurenai nodded, "Uzumaki were the worst people to be in a fight against because of three factors. They usually have more chakra than you do, they are relentless on the attack and, most importantly, they never give up, regardless of the odds. That's why it took the combined forces of three of the Great Shinobi Nations to destroy Uzushiogakure."**

 **"Wow." Ino said in astonishment. She hadn't known that.**

A picture of a bunch of Uzumaki appeared on the screen. "Ladies and Gentleman, may I present the Uzumaki, a clan of badasses among badasses. In one world, badass assassins checked under their beds before going to sleep to check and make sure an Uzumaki wasn't hiding under there." Naruto had a look of pride crossed with unrepentant prankster glee. One version of his family out there was synonymous with the boogieman? That was fucking sweet! (A semi-multi crossover story in the Naruto/Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha section called "Mischief Fragment Mjolnir" by author "Greyff")

 **Hinata activated her Byakugan and had a look around. "There seems to be a valley of some sort over the hill." she reported quietly, "There doesn't appear to be any trees near it."**

 **"Good." Kurenai said, "Let's head there."**

 **The valley was not only free of trees; it was bare of any kind of greenery whatsoever, not even grass or moss. Even the earth had been stripped from the valley, leaving only solid rock to cover the entirety of the land.**

 **"Let's get to somewhere out of sight." Kurenai said, "Hinata, any possibilities?"**

 **"There's a cave in the cliff 500 meters on our right or another one 653 meters on our left." Hinata reported dutifully.**

 **"The one on the left." Anko said bluntly, "Naru-chan automatically searches the left side of a place before the right."**

 **After they got settled in the cave, Kurenai started going over what they knew about the current situation in her head. They were in the middle of what she could safely call enemy territory. Their client had, in all likelihood, been killed along with his whole village not long after sending the initial mission request, if it was a legitimate mission request to begin with.**

 **To make things worse, the perpetrators of this seemed to be the Yanagi Clan, one of the local Clans, who had in their possession a kinjutsu that allowed them to use a sort of half-assed knock off of the fabled _Mokuton_ (Wood Style). With the kinjutsu, they could reanimate corpses like gruesome glove puppets, reattach severed limbs from the cadaver puppets and control roots that were as flexible as ninja wire, but were harder than steel, to the point that the kunai she had tried to cut the roots with had become blunt on the side she had used.**

 ** _'This is not good.'_ Kurenai thought, _'The ANBU would have intervened back there if they had been able to, so they are either dead or incapacitated. Better try and find out which.'_**

 **"Anko, can you summon a snake and send it to try and find the ANBU? They ought to be somewhere near our path into the forest." Kurenai asked.**

 **The Snake Mistress nodded grimly and weaved the handsigns, "Right. _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"**

 **Oddly enough, nothing happened. Anko looked baffled.**

 **"OK, what the hell?" she said in confusion. She repeated the jutsu again, with no effect again, making her growl in frustration.**

 **"Grrr. Damn it!" she snarled, "Whoever is responsible for this whole cluster-fuck must have used a variant of a _Keiyaku Fūin_ (Contract Seal) that's spread across the entire damn forest in order to block summonings!"**

"A what now?" Ino asked, confused on what the story was talking about.

 **"A what now?" Ino asked in confusion.**

Yuki deadpanned at Ino, who looked abashed "I think it's safe to say I'm getting tired of the echo."

 **"A _Keiyaku Fūin_ is a complicated piece of Fūinjutsu that, when applied to a Summoner, blocks off their connection to any of their summoned animals." Kurenai explained, "It can also be used to block off a Summoner from summoning anything to begin with, but usually it needs to be applied to a person's skin directly in order to work. The only other way it could be used to this effect, without being applied to Anko, would be-"**

 **"-The Kekkai that surrounds the forest." a hoarse voice interrupted Kurenai from deeper within the cave. Team 8 started to their feet and drew kunai on instinct.**

 **The voice chuckled dryly. "I suppose after encountering Inaba Kogorō, you would be jumpy." the voice croaked, "But I assure you, I mean you no harm. I am in fact the one who sent for you."**

 **A slow shuffling sound was heard as a wrinkled old man hobbled into view. He looked older than Sarutobi, his face wrinkled with lines and the little that remained of his hair was snow white and wispy on his head.**

 **"I am Morimura Shin'ichi, formerly the Elder of Morimura Village." the man said, "And I welcome you to the Rachi no Tanima (Valley of Naked Earth), the last area of resistance against the Yanagi Clan."**

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

The genin were barely restrained from jumping Yuki "Hurry! What happens next?!"

"Ok! Ok! I'll keep reading! Next Chapter: Infiltration of Mokkijō..."


	14. Ch 13: Infiltration of Mokkijō

Yuki tried to fix his dishevelled outfit after the anxious genin had swarmed him.

"Jeez, you'd think I was the one who left the cliffhanger... ahem... **Chapter 13: Infiltration of Mokkijō**."

 **Naruko's Perspective**

 **Naruko was down on one knee, gasping for breath and leaning on her sword for support. She had just been thrown through several buildings by the monster that had once been Inaba Kogorō.**

The girls were already worried for Naruko, while several of the boys had winced and glanced at Naruto. Naruto was blank-faced, you could tell he was hiding how he felt, as if he could imagine just how much pain his other was going through.

 **"Not so cocky now, are you whelp?" Kogorō's voice boomed across the ruins of Morimura.**

"Jerk..." The girls and Yuki heard Naruto mutter as he watched on.

 **"Hah! I'm just getting started, you oversized weed!" Naruko shouted as she leapt to her feet and ran up the nearest building. She spotted Kogorō's oversized body lumbering forwards towards her.**

 **" _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_! (Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!)" Naruko roared as over 500 Shadow Clones appeared around her, perching on walls and buildings as they did.**

 **"What is this? How are there so many clones?" Kogorō demanded, "Girl, exactly what _are_ you?"**

Yuki smirked, trying to alleviate some of the tension "A badass is what she is." From the look of Naruto's slowly growing grin, it worked.

 **"Uzumaki Naruko, Genin of Konohagakure no Sato!" All the Naruko-Clones shouted back defiantly, "And we're gonna peel you apart like an onion!"**

Yuki returned to the story "Let's just hope he doesn't stink like one."

 **"Bah!" Kogorō scoffed derisively, "You are welcome to try, runt. No matter how much chakra you possess, you cannot so much as touch me!"**

 **"Let's just see about that!" The original Naruko snarled as she and ten others made the Tiger handsign, " _Doton: Doryū Taiga_!"**

 **The concentrated effort of eleven _Doryū Taiga_ jutsu in concert sent the giant treeman flying, covered in mud. Naruko and the other clones maintaining the jutsu upped the amount of chakra they were feeding to the jutsu so the small river became a huge river, throwing more mud on top of Kogorō.**

 **"Gaaaaah!" the former human roared, "I will rip you to pieces for this!"**

 **"Get in line." a Naruko-Clone snarled.**

 **"Less talking, more blasting!" Naruko ordered. Her clones really were too independent and mouthy sometimes.**

 **The Naruko Clone Army moved to surround Kogorō, who had come to rest against a wall. All of the Naruko-clones began making handsigns.**

 **" _Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Suiton: Hōmatsu Rappa no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Raiton: Jibashi no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Katon: Takibi no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Katon: Endan no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Fūton: Reppūshō no Jutsu_!"**

 **" _Fūton: Fūrō no Jutsu_!"**

Yuki winced a little "Water and Wind are ok, the wind jutsu grant any paired water jutsu a greater concussive force, and wind amps up the power of fire jutsu... but using water and fire jutsu together like that isn't recommended, solely because there's a chance that the fire jutsu will get cancelled out and the water jutsu weakened before they reach their target. You can do it, it just isn't recommended if you want the _full_ power." That got nods and note taking from the more ninjutsu orientated genin.

 **The Naruko Cones rained jutsu after jutsu down upon the retainer of the Yanagi Clan. She wasn't taking any chances with this guy, he had to be put down and put down hard. Otherwise, he'd try to hurt her friends.**

 **"ENOUGH!" Kogorō roared in fury, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Meido Konsō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Kinjutsu: Tree Demon: Underworld Root Spears Jutsu!)"**

 **Roots from his burnt, electrocuted, soaking and windswept body lanced out at the Clone Army. Naruko stared in shock. All of her jutsu may only have been C-Rank, but she had never heard of anything that could simply _shrug off_ seven jutsu being dealt out by an army of 500 shinobi at the same time, unless it was a Boss Summon like Gamabunta and even then, the jutsu had to be fairly weak.**

 **The Shadow-copies of her Adamantine Katana couldn't cut through the roots, so the clones who tried were skewered and puffed out of existence. The rest of the clones tried to avoid the roots but they were relentless.**

 **Soon, Naruko stood alone against Kogorō once again. The treeman's root-encased body was scorched and badly damaged in places, but it clearly didn't hinder him in the least.**

The girls started to get worried, would Naruko even be enough to take this guy down?

 ** _'Ok Naruko, keep calm,'_ The Uzumaki Heiress thought to herself, _'Remember what Ji-chan told you. There is no such thing as an unbeatable jutsu. There is always a way to counter or defeat any jutsu.'_**

 **The main problem was, there didn't seem to be a lot she hadn't done to defeat this guy. She'd hit him with fire, water, wind and lightning and he still managed to take out her entire clone army.**

 **With a single jutsu.**

 **"I have had enough of your disrespect and irritating little jutsu!" Kogorō roared, "You will regret the day you ever set foot in Morimura!"**

 **"Looking at the monster you've turned yourself into, I already do." Naruko shot back, "You were an ugly bastard before, but now? Man, you're ten times worse!"**

Yuki facepalmed. "That's it, I'm throwing in books on how to properly trash talk and battlefield banter for everyone..." he muttered.

 **"Grrrr! I will turn you into skewered kunoichi meat!" Kogorō growled, "But first, to prevent you from running away… _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Konrō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Tree Demon: Root Prison Jutsu!)"**

 **Around the border of Morimura Village, thousands of vines shot up from beneath the earth, arching into an enormous dome that blocked out the sun and cast the village into darkness.**

 **There was light though. The roots that made up the dome glowed a sickly black and green light that just barely illuminated the shattered remains of Morimura, making the ruins look haunted.**

Naruto was... currently being squished in the middle of all of the girls clinging to him as they watched on. Yuki merely hoped nothing got broken...

 **"Now then…where were we…?" Kogorō purred smugly.**

 **Naruko gripped her _Kongōgatana_ tightly. This was going to be a long fight. If jutsu didn't work, she'd have to rely on her sword to cut the damned man out of his root suit.**

 **"Let's get this over with, Inaba Kogorō." she said coldly, "I have too much to do with my life to die in such a place as this."**

 **"Hah! Spunky, aren't you?" Kogorō snorted, "You will come to regret that spunk when your body lies broken at my feet."**

 **"You don't have feet anymore." Naruko pointed out, "You have roots."**

That got a few snickers.

 **"Shut UP!" Kogorō howled in rage as he thundered forwards.**

 **Naruko dodged his slow charge and thought, _'Seriously, this guy has no sense of humor.'_**

Yuki deadpanned. "When you sell your soul into blind fanaticism like that, logic and humor are usually the first things to go."

* * *

 **With the Rest of Team 8...**

 **Kurenai regarded the old man carefully. He claimed to be the Elder of Morimura Village, but he looked too old and frail to have gotten himself all the way out here from the village during the attack that had reduced Morimura to a ruin.**

 **"If you _are_ the Elder of Morimura, kindly explain why a C-Rank request was submitted for a situation that is _clearly_ an S-Rank situation?" she asked the man coldly.**

Everyone seemed to lean in to listen, none more so than Hinata, Ino and Naruto. Naruto was surprisingly serious compared to what his classmates normally saw of him.

 **"The choice was not mine, I'm afraid." Shin'ichi said solemnly, "You must understand, the Yanagi have ruled us with an iron fist for years. We have been punished most severely for the smallest infractions and the least signs of rebellion or disobedience."**

Looks ranging from dislike to outright disgust flashed across the faces of the genin.

 **"Kurenai-sensei, I think it's time you started explaining the situation to us in full." Ino said fiercely, "What the hell is going on and why were we being followed by ANBU?!"**

 **Ino most likely would have agreed, however she had heard it during the meeting with the Hokage at the beginning of the mission, so there wouldn't really be a point to speaking up now.**

Didn't stop her from nodding along with her story counterpart though.

 **Anko exchanged a look with Kurenai and began, "There have been far too many disappearances around Morimura in the last five years, brat. Civilians, samurai and ninja. So when this mission request came to the old man's attention with the information that residents of Morimura were being abducted from their own homes, he decided that enough was enough and the place needed investigating."**

 **Kurenai took over here, "Hokage-sama sent us, because we were the best prepared out of all of the rookie genin teams. We are also the most combat capable, with Anko here."**

 **"Thank you Nai-chan." Anko said and fluttered her eyelashes bashfully.**

Yuki could see Kurenai sigh and facepalm at Anko's antics. It turned into a deadpan when Anko tried teasing her by doing the same. He hid a chuckle and turned back to the story.

 **"Hokage-sama also dispatched two teams of ANBU to shadow us." Kurenai continued, rolling her eyes at Anko's antics, "They were supposed to investigate the four Clans that rule this area while we acted as the stalking horse and drew the enemies attention, but if there's a kekkai, I doubt that they were able to enter the forest at all."**

 **Hinata still looked unhappy. "Ano…What about Naruko-chan? She's fighting that Kogorō person!"**

 **Shin'ichi looked shaken. "You…left someone _behind_ to fight _him_? _Alone_?"**

 **"She volunteered." Kurenai snapped, "He announced that he would kill her before taking us. I suspect it has something to do with the fact she could cut those roots with her sword."**

 **The old man paled. "She…actually _cut_ them? Really? That…explains a lot. _No-one_ has ever cut the roots of the Mashinju before."**

 **"'Demon God Tree'" Anko said with a frown, "I think that you should start explaining how everything came to be like this, Shin'ichi-sama."**

All of the genin nodded along in one way or another. On with the back history!

 **"Of course. Follow me, I will escort you to the resistance's cave." the Elder said, turning around and beckoning them to follow him. Exchanging wary looks, Team 8 followed him.**

 **They moved deeper into the cave, until they hit a dead end. Shin'ichi reached out and twisted a seemingly random rock. With a crack, the wall split in two and retracted to the sides.**

 **"Wow. Just like Naruko-chan's home." Ino whispered to Hinata, who nodded in reply.**

Yuki spoke up from the story for a moment. "I'm surprised. Karakuri mechanisms like that aren't usually used much in your own world outside of those used in Suna Puppetry and yet this story employs much more. Something to think on when it comes to the differences between dimensions I guess."

 **They climbed a staircase that was cut into the rock of the mountain and reached a sturdy looking wooden door. The old Elder banged on the door three times with his hand.**

 **The door opened a crack. "Password?" A female voice asked cautiously.**

Yuki had to make a joke "The Password is _Password_." He said with a grin, getting a couple chuckles from Naruto and Shikamaru, while Shino had a ghost of a smirk.

 **"Haruka, hurry up and open the damn door already." Shin'ichi said irritably, "If I was a Yanagi stooge, I would have broken the door down rather than knock. Now open up already!"**

Yuki made another jab "Would have been funnier if that was the actual password." This got more chuckles and giggles this time around.

 **"Yes, Elder." the girl squeaked and flung the door open, revealing a girl no older than ten straining to hold the door open.**

 **Team 8 followed the Elder and the little girl into a vast cavern that looked as if it had originally been a natural formation, but had been enlarged by extensive mining and carving. It was filled with women, children and the elderly, but very few men of fighting age.**

 **"Most of the younger men acted as a rearguard when the Yanagi launched their attack on us a week ago. Not many survived to flee here." Shin'ichi told them quietly. He led them to a small chamber off the main cavern that had a soft chair and a carved stone couch covered in pillows.**

 **Shin'ichi sat in the chair with a groan of relief. "Those damn stairs get steeper every time I have to climb them."**

 **"This looks like a Ninja Clan's emergency storehouse." Kurenai said conversationally.**

 **The Elder chuckled, "Yes indeed. It used to belong to the Kashi Clan before they were destroyed."**

 **The humour faded from Shin'ichi's face then. "How much do you know about the history of this area and the four Ninja Clans that used to rule here?"**

Everyone paid attention at this point. Here comes the presentation.

 **"We know that all four clans have a common ancestor, Morisato Kazenotsuchi, and that they have fought each other for dominance here since before the Warring Clans period. Other than that, we know very little of this area's history as the four Clans were very reclusive and stand offish." Kurenai replied as she and the others took a seat.**

 **"I see." Shin'ichi sat quietly for a moment to organise his thoughts, "Well, Morisato Kazenotsuchi was said to have learned from one of the original disciples of the Rikudō Sennin Himself. He created many jutsu and was a kind man. He also carried out numerous experiments on plant life. He had heard of the Rikudō Sennin's Sennin Mode, which allowed him to gather Natural Energy, and was determined to create something that would allow an ordinary Ninja to use Natural Energy."**

 **"He…that's…What kind of an _idiot_ …?!" Anko spluttered, eyes wide with disbelief.**

 **"What's wrong, Anko-sensei?" Ino asked with a frown, "Natural Energy is just another form of chakra, right? So it shouldn't be that difficult to use."**

 **"Flower Girl, only those with immense chakra reserves are able to safely gather Natural Energy." Anko replied in a strangled voice, "My bastard ex-sensei is able to do it, as can Jiraya of the Sannin. Those are the only two who can use Senjutsu that have come from Konoha in my lifetime. Oh, the Yondaime Hokage was able to mould Natural Energy as well, now I come to think about it, although the Kyūbi came shortly after he learned and he never fully mastered it."**

 **"But…why?" Hinata asked with a frown.**

 **"Most people who use Sennin Mode are associated with a Summoning Contract," Anko explained, "The two that I know about are the Toad Clan from Myōbokuzan (Mount Myōboku) and the Snake Clan of Ryūchidō (Ryūchi Cave), although for all I know the Slug Clan of Shikkotsurin (Shikkotsu Forest) can make people a Sennin as well.**

 **"Those two use a special oil, toad oil for the Toads and snake oil for the Snakes, which aid in gathering Natural Energy. Thing is, if you gather too much Natural Energy, you turn into either a stone toad statue or stone snake statue, depending on where you are learning, and there is _no_ known way to reverse the transformation. _That_ is why Morisato's idea is insane."**

That got quite the reaction from all of the genin listening. And to boost Naruto's true ego a bit "Jiraiya still can't gather and balance it properly and ends up looking a little more toad-like than normal." Two headshots of Jiraiya appeared on the screen, the left was of the pervert in his normal form, while the one on the right showed him in Sage Mode.

"This is what happened when _Naruto_ finished learning it." There was a picture of Naruto as a fifteen year old on the left, and Naruto in the perfected Sage Mode on the right. The girls were blushing at how handsome Naruto becomes in three or so years, as well as how serious he looked in SM. Naruto looked in awe at how powerful he looked.

"Word of warning Naruto. Jiraiya takes you on a three year training trip in the future and while you came back a bit stronger, your intelligence dropped in comparison and actually put you behind the growth of your classmates. Most of that can be blamed on both Kakashi and Jiraiya's terrible teaching habits. I'll include some evidence you can give the Hokage when the pervert tried to take you training that should help you out."

 **"Interesting…" Shin'ichi muttered, "I always wondered why he stopped, but this does explain much. Anyway, ultimately, he failed. But he did create something that was horrifically powerful as a result: The Hason Shinboku (Corrupted Sacred Tree) or, as we now know it, the Mashinju."**

 **"What exactly is it?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"A monstrosity that should never have been created." Shin'ichi said firmly and with disgust in his voice, "He took an extremely old and powerful Shinboku, one that had been exposed to the raw chakra of the Rikudō Sennin, and he…experimented on it, twisting it, corrupting it, until he created a foul being that did, in an odd way, fulfil his goal.**

 **"The Mashinju does indeed allow a person to use Natural Energy, in small quantities, but the price is _far_ too great to be called an equivalent exchange. The price…is that it creates the Natural Energy from the distilled lifeblood of victims sacrificed to it."**

 **Kurenai gasped in horror. Anko scowled and muttered under her breath, while Ino and Hinata turned green at the thought.**

Every listener except for the Crewgers followed suit.

 **"Then…your villagers…" Kurenai said in sudden realisation.**

 **"Yes…all of the kidnapped villagers have been used as 'fuel' for the demon tree." Shin'ichi said as he sagged in his seat, "Oh, they aren't dead, but they wish they were."**

 **"What do you…?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"That comes at the end of the tale." The Elder said, "Where was I again…ah, yes. Once he discovered the price for the Natural Energy being distilled, Morisato-shi was most distressed. He tried to destroy the foul thing, but it was, as it is now, incredibly resilient to destruction. He couldn't even scratch it, despite his best efforts.**

 **"Once he realised he couldn't destroy it, he had a special room built deep beneath his castle and transferred the Mashinju to it. He used numerous powerful seals to restrain its power and prevent it from escaping and spreading to the forest. He then closed the doors and locked them up with some very heavy and solid chains, along with an immensely complicated locking mechanism. Finally, he sealed the path to the hidden chamber beneath layers of bricks, concrete and stone, and gave instructions that no-one was to ever excavate that door, on pain of death."**

 **Anko blinked. "Wow. He sure was thorough."**

 **"Indeed." Shin'ichi nodded in agreement, "Unfortunately, Morisato-shi had been poisoned by his constant exposure to the undiluted evil chakra of the demon tree and he soon fell gravely ill. On his deathbed, he ordered that his sons were to guard the castle together and to raise their families so that none could reach his greatest mistake."**

 **"Let me guess, the four idiots misconstrued that _completely_ and took it to mean that only the one whose family was the most _worthy_ could inherit his greatest _secret_?" Anko asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.**

Cue widespread synchronicity between the listeners, as they each gave their own form of disgust at what they were hearing.

 **"You got it right on the nose." The Elder snorted in disgust, "The Eldest son who eventually became the Clan Head of the Yanagi claimed his father's castle, Fūrinkan-Jō (Wood Wind Hall Castle) as his own and evicted his brothers after he got fed up of them arguing all the time.**

 **"The next oldest took his followers and built a castle in the eastern area, calling it Washigan-Jō (Eagle-Eye Castle) and swore to maintain a strict watch on the other three until his family won.**

 **"The second youngest moved to the north, built a castle and called it Kurou-Jō (Black Crow Castle), swearing to wipe out his brothers' families and lay claim to the secret of Fūrinkan-Jō for himself.**

 **"Finally, the youngest built a castle in the west, calling it Katagi Kijō (Temperament Demon Castle) and supported his eldest brother.**

 **"In this way, the deadlock between the four Clans was maintained for hundreds of years, with the balance shifting between the clans every so often, but none of them could break the deadlock.**

 **"At least until nine years ago."**

 **"Just after the last survey of the area by Konoha." Kurenai muttered, "The Hyūga Incident happened the year after that and with all the diplomatic brouhaha, another survey was put off and kept getting put off for some reason."**

 **She had reviewed the records for the area before meeting with her team the previous day.**

 **"Quite." Shin'ichi chose to ignore the flinch that Hinata let show at the mention of her almost-successful kidnapping by Kumogakure, "The incident that changed the balance of power among the four Clans completely was the early death of the Clan Head of the Yanagi Clan, Yanagi Gozaburo. There was a great argument among the Clan Elders as to which of his twin daughters should become the Clan Head.**

 **"The older sister, Sae, was a great beauty, even at the age of sixteen and had a brilliant mind in matters military and domestic. Unfortunately, she was also unstable and quite cruel.**

 **"Saeko, on the other hand was quiet, shy and disliked combat. She was a shadow of her sister's beauty, attractive, but never as good looking as Sae. Her mind was even more brilliant, however, and she specialised in esoteric jutsu research."**

 **Hinata shifted uneasily. This Clan's inheritance troubles were an inverted shadow of what the situation had been like before she had revealed her real skill to her father and little sister.**

Hinata was just as uncomfortable as her story counterpart. Naruto attempted to give her a reassuring hug, but that just pulled the other girls into a large bear hug.

 **"What happened?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"Sae went for a walk in the grounds and the ground beneath her collapsed. She fell into the chamber of the Mashinju." Shin'ichi said bluntly.**

 **"Of all the times…"Anko muttered.**

 **"No-one knows what exactly happened beneath the castle, but when Sae emerged, she was connected to the demon tree and used its power to subjugate the Clan, sacrificing all who stood against her to the Mashinju. Fully two-thirds of the Clan were either slain or sacrificed that day."**

 **"How…" Kurenai couldn't find words to express her feelings on the matter.**

 **"From there, it became a slippery slope." Shin'ichi sighed wearily, "Sae spared her sister and made her work on the Mashinju, firstly designing a seal that protected people from the chakra the tree emitted so no-one died from it, and then creating a facility so that sacrifices could be used to the fullest extent before being…disposed of."**

 **"How could she agree to help her sister do such awful things?" Hinata whispered.**

 **"Saeko-sama is not a particularly brave individual." Shin'ichi said with a shrug, "She does not want to be sacrificed to the tree, at any costs. Not everyone has the raw physical courage that most ninja have."**

 **"Still…she could do something! Anything!" Ino exclaimed, "Her cowardice is causing suffering for your entire village!"**

 **"What's done is done, child." The Elder smiled tiredly at Ino, "I admit to wishing that Saeko-sama was braver, but sadly, the only result from that would be her death, and the appointment of someone else who would just carry on in a less efficient manner, which would just cause more suffering to those captured by the Yanagi."**

 **"He's right, Flower Girl." Anko said sourly before turning back to the Elder, "So, the Yanagi were taken over by a borderline nutcase who may or may not have been pushed over the edge by this damn demon tree. How did she conquer the other Clans? She _did_ wipe out all but a third of them."**

 **"This is where the Vassal Clan, the Inaba, comes into play." Shin'ichi said, anger boiling in his voice, "They moved into the area a hundred and fifty years ago, during the Warring Clans Period. They tried to conquer the Yanagi, but the combined efforts of the Yanagi Clan and the Kaba Clan defeated them and the Inaba were made into Vassals of the Yanagi and Kaba.**

 **"Yanagi Sae discovered her ancestor's notes on the demon tree and had Saeko-sama augment a portion of the Inaba Clan with Natural Energy. With the enhanced Inaba Clan members added to the regular forces of the Yanagi Clan, the Kashi Clan fell within two months, the Momiji and Kaba Clans falling soon after that."**

 **"She turned on her own ally!?" Anko hissed in outrage.**

Soon anger joined in the disgust at what they were hearing.

 **"Sae considers herself above such mundane things as morality, as I'm sure Inaba Kogorō informed you." Shin'ichi said, "To each clan, she offered them a choice: life in service to her or eventual death at the hands of the Mashinju. Most of the three Clans fought to the death rather than suffer either fate."**

 **"Of course." Ino huffed, "My Clan would have made the same choice in the same position as the Kashi, Momiji and Kaba!"**

 **Hinata nodded in agreement. "A-As would my Clan." she said.**

 **"A few members of each clan were captured, including the Clan Heads, and they were sacrificed to the demon tree." The Elder continued, "Sae then set up…seedlings would be the best term for them I think…seedlings at each of the castles, all of them interconnected to each other and to the main tree.**

 **"That was six years ago.**

 **"Now, the Mashinju has spread across the entirety of the forest and Saeko-sama created the Kekkai around the circumference of the border both so none of the villagers can escape and so none can enter without being captured by the twisted Inaba Clan members, that we call Ankonhei, unless a section of the barrier is deliberately dropped."**

 **"'Dark Root Soldiers'?" Kurenai queried.**

 **"There is a particular Kinjutsu that turns the user into a walking construct of roots." Shin'ichi explained, "Sae had several Inaba sacrificed in order to perfect it. The roots, which were incredibly resilient, act as a near perfect defence and can also be used as an offence. The worst part is that the one who uses the jutsu doesn't require handsigns for other Yanagi Kinjutsu."**

 **"What is the jutsu's name?" Anko asked, a horrible thought occurring to her.**

 **"I believe it is called ' _Jarinma_ ', or 'Evil Forest Demon'." Shin'ichi replied, slightly confused by the question, "Why do you ask?"**

 **"SHIT!" Anko cursed, "That was the name of the Jutsu that Kogorō bastard used just before Naruko told us to run for it!"**

Worried looks were exchanged among the genin.

 **"Then I am afraid your friend is lost." Shin'ichi said sadly, "None who have stood against an Ankonhei have ever walked away."**

 **Anko opened her mouth, probably to bite out an angry retort, when a man ran into the chamber, one of the few men who were not a geriatric.**

 **"Chōrō-dono! (Lord Elder!)" He bellowed.**

 **"What is it? Can't you see I'm in an important meeting right now?" Shin'ichi barked irritably.**

 **"My apologies, Chōrō-dono, but…there's a change in the landscape of the forest!" The man said, an edge of panic in his voice.**

 **Shin'ichi stiffened. "What has changed? Spit it out!" he demanded.**

 **"Morimura Village! It's been covered by a black dome of roots!" the panicking man replied.**

 **"What?!" All of Team 8 exclaimed in shock. Shin'ichi stood up.**

 **"Let's go to the observation post." The Elder said briskly, "I feel we should see this for ourselves."**

 **He led Team 8 to a crude wooden elevator of some kind. After they got in, it was raised up to the peak of the mountain, where a stone observation post had been built, which offered a panoramic view of the entire forest.**

 **In the distance, the giant shape of a dome covered the ruins of what had once been Morimura Village. As the panicking man had said, it was made entirely out of roots and looked dark and menacing as the roots glowed a sickly green/black colour.**

 **"Kami…" Kurenai whispered.**

 **"This…is… _unprecedented_!" Shin'ichi exclaimed, "The last time a dome such as that was raised, it was in the final battle against the Kaba Clan, around the entire castle. For Inaba Kogorō to have raised it here…your friend must truly be a great threat for him to have used this jutsu."**

 **"What is it?" Ino whispered, her face horrified.**

 **"A small boundary jutsu." The Elder replied, "Those roots are drawing chakra and Natural Energy directly from the Mashinju itself, rather than Kogorō's own chakra. They are now nigh invincible and will not fall until either Kogorō wishes it, or he dies."**

 **"Naruko-chan…" Hinata whimpered.**

 **"I must ask…how is it that you know so much about ninja techniques?" Kurenai said neutrally, "It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that a rural village elder would know about, certainly not in the depth of detail that you seem to."**

 **"Sharp." Shin'ichi chuckled, "I was formerly the Kaba Clan's Castellan, the man who was in charge of the Castle's Wall Guard. The same year that your survey team was in the area, I 'retired' and became the Morimura Village Elder. I was also the spymaster for the Clan and, even now, my single surviving contact within the Yanagi Clan feeds me information about their jutsu and plans, which is how I know so much about the mechanics of Yanagi Clan Jutsu and the workings of the demon tree."**

 **"I see. This explains how you were able to escape from the village, I take it?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"Ah, now that's another tale." The Elder said, "For now, let's get back to the main chamber and I will finish my own story."**

 **"I'm staying here!" Ino said fiercely.**

 **"Me too!" Hinata agreed.**

 **"I would advise against it." Shin'ichi said sadly, "As I said earlier, not a single opponent, or even group of opponents for that matter, have _ever_ survived an encounter with an Ankonhei."**

 **"Naruko-chan stayed behind to protect us." Ino replied, "The least we can do is keep a vigil over where she is fighting for her life!"**

 **Hinata nodded, an unusually obdurate expression on her face.**

 **"Very well." Kurenai said. Clearly, her two remaining genin were not going to back down on this subject.**

 **"If you pull that rope there, you will summon the elevator." Shin'ichi pointed at a heavy looking rope near the elevator, "Kindly inform us if anything changes."**

 **"Hai." the two genin responded automatically as they turned their attention to the black dome where their teammate was trapped.**

 **Anko, Kurenai and the Elder rode down the elevator, leaving the two anxious genin watching the dome that imprisoned their friend.**

* * *

 **With Anko and Kurenai…**

 **"This must be hard on the two of them." Shin'ichi remarked to the two Jonin as they left the elevator.**

 **"Naruko's been friends with Ino since they were seven, and with Hinata since they were eight." Kurenai said with a sigh, "Ino and Naruko drifted apart slightly as they got older, but they grew close again after being assigned to the same team. Hinata was always shy, but she admires Naruko for her confidence and upbeat attitude."**

 **"I see." The Elder sighed, "The evil of the Yanagi Clan has a lot to answer for."**

"More than you know." Yuki muttered as he flipped the page. He noticed his siblings had said something of that sort to the other groups, which made the adult Ninja sit up straight.

 **They re-entered the small chamber that they had been in before and retook their seats.**

 **"Let's see, where was I? Ah, yes." Shin'ichi said with a frown, "After the boundary kekkai was set up, the conditions that the Yanagi forced upon us were…harsh, as I told you before. Affairs continued as they had before, with the Ankonhei occasionally capturing any foolish enough to venture into the forest from outside.**

 **The only exceptions were the Konoha Chunin Squad two years ago. They managed to avoid the patrolling Ankonhei. Inaba Kogorō defeated them himself and dragged them off to the castle of the Yanagi, which we now call Mokkijō (Wood Demon Castle), himself."**

 **"Are they still alive?" Kurenai asked intently.**

 **"No…the last of them died six months ago." Shin'ichi replied, "A year and a half is how long it usually takes to kill someone with active chakra coils after being sacrificed to the demon tree."**

 **Anko and Kurenai cursed creatively.**

In the other section, Yuki saw the face of the Hokage darken in anger.

 **"I agree with you." Shin'ichi assured them, "Recently, however, there were members of the village who disappeared without a trace. I would ordinarily dismiss this as a couple running off together, as the first to vanish were teenagers, but then again, this is not an ordinary situation and the list of missing people started growing to include the elderly, children and middle-aged people.**

 **"Then I received information from my contact that confirmed my worst fears: the missing villagers were being offered to the Mashinju in preparation for something, something big. Then, an edict came from the castle ordering me to send a C-Rank mission request to Konoha asking for a team to investigate the disappearances. If I refused, the village would be razed to the ground as a punishment."**

 **"Shit, and then they did it anyway!" Anko hissed angrily.**

 **"I suspected that they would," The former Elder of Morimura stated serenely, "so I arranged for most of the children and older people to come here during a time when I had been informed that Sae was not watching using her _Rinma: Rinmagan Jutsu_ (Demon Forest: Forest Demon Eye Jutsu) to spy on the forest.**

 **The day after I sent the request, as I predicted, Inaba Kogorō attacked. The Village Guard and most of the combat trained resistance fighters counter-attacked while the rest of us fell back to here, luckily avoiding any of the Ankonhei. This takes us full circle."**

 **"I see. Thank you for being candid with us, Shin'ichi-sama." Kurenai said with a nod, "The question is, what can we do about this situation? We cannot defeat these…Ankonhei, nor can we counter the Kinjutsu using the Mashinju physically because we cannot cut them or even scratch them with either weapons or Jutsu. What has this entire situation accomplished other than trapped us here with you?"**

 **The Elder opened his mouth to reply, but Ino burst in at that moment looking frantic.**

 **"The dome has vanished!" she shouted, "The bastard's the only one at the Village! Naruko's disappeared!"**

A lot of the genin (besides Sasuke, Neji and Shino for obvious reasons) paled and worried for their friend's counterpart.

* * *

 **Fifteen Minutes Previously…**

 **Beneath the Dome…**

 **Naruko dodged another swipe of the treeman's whip-like arms before striking out with her Kongōgatana, cutting another few inches of roots from the limb in question before leaping back to dodge the second arm.**

 ** _'This is getting me nowhere!'_ The Uzumaki Heiress growled to herself, _'No matter where I cut, the roots are packed so tightly that I can only cut a few inches into the arms, never mind the main body!'_**

 **Kogorō was also irritated. The brat had been jumping around like a jack-in-the-box and the only two disadvantages of this form was that his speed was significantly less and his ability to react was reduced due to his sheer size.**

 ** _'Enough. I have let this brat irritate me for long enough. It is past time to end this absurdity.'_ he thought coldly.**

"Jerk." Naruto muttered.

 **After dodging another whipping arm, Naruko leapt back several times to put some distance between the two of them.**

 ** _'I only have one chance at ending this quickly.'_ Naruko thought as she readied herself, _'I wish I had spent more time on my Clan's Kenjutsu Style, but even with Shadow Clones there's only so much I can take in per day. The only special technique I learned is still not ready for actual combat. It_ should _work, but I don't know what this guy will do if it fails. Regardless, it's a calculated risk. Here goes nothing…'_**

"A hint to all of you: never use a jutsu that you haven't mastered to a decent level in combat." Yuki warned the genin, "What is about to happen is an example of why."

 **Naruko raised her sword above her head and assumed the high-offensive stance. Following the instructions she remembered from her practice sessions, she channelled both fire chakra and wind chakra towards her _Kongōgatana_.**

The power emanating from the blade made Sasuke the pyromaniac almost drool.

 _Almost_.

He had an image to keep after all...

 **The result astonished her. The sword erupted in a blazing flame that grew with every moment that passed, until she was holding a seven-foot long blade of bubbling fire that pulsed with restrained power.**

 ** _'But…how…'_ Naruko wondered numbly, _'Of course! The En'ō Kago-te is made of both Adamantine and chakra metal! That means that instead of just coating my blade with fire and wind chakra, the chakra actually entered the sword and combined, the wind chakra making the fire chakra that much more powerful!_ That's _why the instructions recommended a chakra metal sword!'_**

 **"What is this? What have you wrought, Whelp?!" Kogorō boomed, "What manner of blade is that? I have never seen it's like before!"**

 **"Wouldn't you like to know?" Naruko smirked, "There's no point telling a dead man any secrets. Just know that this sword is your end!"**

 **Naruko charged forward as she spoke and, faster than an ordinary human could see, impaled the treeman directly in the centre of its body.**

 **" _Uzumaki-Ryū Kenjutsu: Kaen Ittōryōdan_! (Uzumaki Style Sword Technique: Blazing Single Stroke Bisection!)" Naruko hissed and dragged the fiery sword upwards, neatly cutting the treeman in half before the blade extinguished itself.**

 **The two halves fell to either side of where it had once stood and Naruko's eyes widened. The treeman was hollow! What the…?!**

 **" _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Meido Jubaku_!" a familiar voice boomed from around her. Naruko twisted around but was caught by the swift root that erupted from beneath her. In moments, she was wrapped up in roots that were as strong as steel, her right arm trapped against her chest and her sword clattered against the ground and skittered away from her after her hand was forcibly twisted to disarm her.**

A cry of dismay came up from the genin and Naruto found out that having a worried Hyūga Heiress bury your head in her cleavage was not as comfortable as it sounds, as he did not have a way to breath in fabric. Well, he'd known that since the last time this happened, but reinforcing the lesson wasn't exactly a bad thing.

 **The ground to her front rumbled and the familiar form of the treeman Kogorō had become rose up from beneath the earth to loom above her.**

 **"Now I have you, bothersome insect!" Kogorō sneered at her, "How naïve of you to fall for my _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Konki: Kyokon Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Root Demon: Hollow Root Clone Jutsu), especially since you seem to specialise in Clone Jutsu yourself. A fatal error."**

"Is it me or are the jutsu this Kogorō guy's using unnecessarily long named?" Sakura mused.

"Provincial clans with way too much time on their hands." Yuki shrugged.

 **"When the hell'd you switch?" Naruko snarled as she tried to free herself in vain.**

 **"When you began your attack." Kogorō said smugly, "Your sword technique was powerful enough to have pierced my actual root armour, I freely admit that, but it was too bright after being in this darkness for all this time and made it hard for you to see clearly for a moment while your vision adjusted. I shed the top layer of my armour to make my Ne Bunshin and sunk into the ground just before you impaled it. After that, I merely had to wait for you to drop your guard and bound you in those roots you are constricted by."**

 **"Heh…I lost because my technique was too powerful…figures." Naruko chuckled humourlessly, "Now what?"**

 **"Now? Now you die." Kogorō stated as he raised his right arm, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Daikon Ressō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Demon Tree: Great Root Twisted Spear Jutsu!)"**

 **The arm flexed, extended and spun until it formed a large lance-like shape that ended in a wickedly sharp point. The entire construct took up two thirds of the treeman's arm.**

 **"Any last words, whelp?" Kogorō asked as he hefted the weapon attachment threateningly.**

 **Naruko looked at him evenly. Then she spat at his feet contemptuously.**

 **"Go to hell, asshole." she snarled at him, "Konoha knows I'm here and they will find out what you did here. Then they will come and burn this whole kami forsaken forest down around your ears! The Hokage himself will rip you to pieces and make you watch as he kills your 'Sae-sama' before your eyes."**

"Very brave." Yuki praised her, "Foolish in the face of an enemy, but brave."

 **"I fear not the weaklings of a Hidden Village who feel the need to group together in order to feel safe and secure!" Kogorō roared, "Nor do I fear a senile old man past his prime! I shall slay him, just as I shall slay you for your gross disrespect! Now, perish!"**

 **Leaping up high, the treeman flipped over with surprising agility for his size and landed on the dome of roots. Kicking off from the dome moments later, Kogorō sped towards Naruko from above with blinding speed, arm-spear drawn back and ready to strike.**

 **" _Jishin Tensō_! (Earthquake Heaven Spear!)" Kogorō roared as he slammed the arm-spear into the chest of the immobile Uzumaki Heiress and caused an immense dust cloud to rise up around the two, obscuring all things for many meters around the impact site.**

A great clamour went up from the Genin as Yuki played the scene as a video. Neji did not smile, but had the attitude of someone who had his beliefs vindicated. At least before Yuki caught his eyes, smirked and tapped the book, showing that they weren't even close to the end, which deflated him somewhat.

Yuki loved doing that.

 **Kogorō straightened after a few moments and raised his weapon to view the tip in confusion. It was completely devoid of blood and, even more perturbing for the retainer, was squashed and bent beyond recognition, as if he had slammed it into the dome that covered the village.**

 ** _'What is the meaning of this?'_ Kogorō wondered, _'Nothing should be able to stop that technique. I punched through a five foot thick stone wall during the Siege of Katagi Kijō using that Jutsu before, so what could possibly stop it?'_**

 **Suddenly, an alien presence touched his mind, which made Kogorō catch his breath. It was Sae-sama, using her _Rinma: Yōma Sasayaki no Jutsu_ (Forest Demon: Leaf Demon Whispering Jutsu) to communicate with him.**

 ** _"Kogorō, what are you doing? I sent you to capture the Konoha scum, not kill them!"_ Sae demanded within his mind.**

 ** _"M-My apologies, Sae-sama, but I had to kill one of them."_ Kogorō explained, _"She had a sword that was able to cut the roots of the Mashinju. She had to be neutralised."_**

 ** _"Impossible!"_ Sae exclaimed, _"The roots have never been so much as scratched before!"_**

 ** _"Regardless, that is what happened Sae-sama. The blade was even capable of damaging my Jarinma form."_ Kogorō replied, _"Regrettably, she somehow got away from me, despite the fact I had her bound by roots and tried to impale her with my Jishin Tensō."_**

 ** _"How?"_ Sae asked flatly, _"No-one can use a Kawarimi no Jutsu while bound by the roots because of the seals Saeko drew on them and they should be immune to conventional chakra-enhanced strength due to their own chakra enhanced durability. Moreover, your Jishin Tensō is the strongest physical attack out of all of the Inaba Clan. Nothing should be able to block it directly. She should be skewered like a Dango on a stick right now."_**

Yuki's lip twitched upwards as he caught sight of Kurenai and Anko over in the Sensei section. Apparently from the hit to the back of the head Kurenai had given Anko, now was not the time to be drooling over thoughts of Dango.

 **Kogorō was about to answer when he heard the sound of rapidly flowing water. He looked down at the hole in the ground and saw something that made him curse.**

 ** _"Sae-sama, I pierced the ground all the way to the natural underground waterway that supplied Morimura with its water. Can you track the roots that I used to bind the girl?"_ Kogorō asked.**

 ** _"No, you blithering fool, because you snapped them off of the Mashinju when you attacked the girl!"_ Sae snapped at him, _"Do you at least have her sword?"_**

 **The retainer looked at where the unusual black bladed Katana had fallen when he had disarmed the whelp. It was gone. Kogorō stared at the spot in disbelief. Was everything going to go wrong when it came to that damned blond whelp?**

Shikamaru smirked as he connected the dots. Very clever of her.

 ** _"Sae-sama…I-I don't understand how, but the sword is…gone!"_ Kogorō stammered, _"I distinctly recall disarming her, but the sword is gone! I know it did not fall into the waterway, it was too far away! I…"_**

 ** _"Enough of your inane and foolish babbling, Kogorō!"_ Sae snapped irritably, _"The sword could cut the roots of the Mashinju, so it is clearly no ordinary weapon. It might have a seal that sends it back to its owners hand after a pre-set period or something of that nature._**

 ** _Regardless, you have failed me twice today. Firstly by failing to kill the wielder of such a powerful weapon and secondly by allowing the weapon itself to escape you. Please tell me that you have not failed me a third time by allowing the other Konoha Shinobi to have fled before you could capture them?"_**

 ** _"I…I am sorry to report that they fled whilst the sword wielder acted as a rearguard, Sae-sama."_ Kogorō replied nervously.**

 **Sae was silent for a moment before saying in a flat, emotionless voice that chilled Kogorō to the marrow of his bones, _"Very well. You have failed me three times this day. When you return to the castle, we shall discuss your punishment in person. Get back here on the double."_**

"Somehow I doubt that she's going to leave it at talking about it." Ino said nervously. She didn't feel sorry for the man, but she still didn't want to see someone being tortured.

 ** _"B-But Sae-sama, what of the other Konoha Shinobi?"_ Kogorō asked hesitantly.**

 ** _"I cannot see or hear them in the entire forest, so there is only one place they could be."_ Sae told him bitingly.**

 ** _"The Rachi no Tanima!"_ Kogorō realised in horror. Now there was no way for him to regain honour with Lady Sae.**

 ** _"Return, Kogorō. That is an order."_ Sae ordered flatly before breaking the connection.**

 **Kogorō sagged for a moment. Lady Sae's punishments were legendary among the Inaba, even before she had become one with the Mashinju. This was not going to be a pleasant experience for him.**

 **He regarded the dome with a slight scowl that was visable on the caricature of a face on the Jarinma shell he wore.**

 **"KAI!" he ordered, deactivating the enclosure jutsu now that it was useless, causing the roots to retract back into the ground and exposing the village ruins once again.**

 ** _'I bet that brat is laughing herself silly at having outsmarted me yet again, somehow.'_ he thought sourly.**

Naruto pulled back with a gasp as Hinata's grasp had loosened enough for him to pull his head out and began greedily sucking in air into his starved lungs.

* * *

 **Underground Waterway**

 **Naruko fought to keep herself conscious. Her entire body below her neck was throbbing and aching in enormous pain. She was having a hard time thinking straight, the pain was so great. The freezing cold water at a rapid pace was sweeping her along and she could barely keep her head above water in her current condition.**

 ** _'Hurts…so much.'_ she thought fuzzily, barely restraining a whimper of pain.**

A gasp went up from the girls. Naruto positioned himself to avoid being suffocated by lovely chest pillows again.

 **She had been lucky that Kogorō had aimed at her chest, right at where the centre of her right arm was trapped against her chest. She had read the location where he would strike easily. The main weakness of overly large weapons was that they telegraphed where their user was going to attack. She had cancelled the transformation of En'ō Kago-te, reverting it to its gauntlet form and gambling that the Adamantine would withstand the impact.**

 **It had, but the same couldn't be said for the rest of her body. She could feel that her right arm had multiple breaks in it and she was sure that her ribcage had at least a few fractures and a couple of outright breaks as well. Her back was sore as well, but she wasn't sure whether anything was broken or not.**

 **So, overall, she was wounded worse than she had ever been in her life. And she didn't want to add 'almost drowned' to the list of near death experiences she had been through, so she fought as hard as she could to keep her head above the water, which meant dodging hanging stalactites with only her left arm to steer with.**

 **Time went on, but the tunnel seemed to keep going on, twisting, turning, and even sloping downwards at one point. Naruko was becoming steadily more clearheaded as her Kyūbi-enhanced healing factor worked its usual magic on her injuries, but that only made her more aware of exactly how numb her extremities were becoming due to the ice-cold water.**

 **She was shivering like a leaf, her heart was racing, her breathing was rapid and her skin, what little of it she could see, was becoming very pale, all the symptoms of mild hypothermia. She wasn't sure if the Kyūbi could heal hypothermia or not, but the fact that she didn't know made her _very_ eager to get _out_ of the water, dry off and warm up.**

"It can, but only if she gets out of the water." Yuki informed the genin.

 **Suddenly, she emerged from the waterway into an immense underground cavern that was at least as big as the Hokage Tower. Naruko didn't pay much attention as the river she now found herself in swept her into a large lake. Shivering, she saw the shore ahead of her and pushed herself into a one-handed forward crawl towards it.**

 ** _'Just a little further…come on, move it!'_ Naruko urged her body as blackness began to edge in on her vision. She realised that she was losing consciousness as the combination of physical trauma, rapid healing and massive chakra expenditure, combined with the rapid drop in her body temperature caught up with her.**

 ** _'I… can't give up here…! I have to…get to…my team!'_ Naruko fought herself back to consciousness through sheer willpower alone, _'Have to protect them…Hinata-chan…Ino-chan…Kurenai-sensei…An-chan…have…to…'_**

Yuki could practically see the pride Naruto's new girlfriends had at how protective their paramore's other was to her team.

 **She finally, after what seemed like an eternity, made it to the shore of the lake. She hauled herself up the rough gravel that covered the lake, not feeling able to stand at the moment. With a groan, she flopped onto her back and sucked in deep breaths for a while.**

 ** _'Tired…so tired…'_ Naruko thought exhaustedly as darkness rapidly overtook her again. The last thing she saw was a figure with black hair and shining azure eyes standing over her silently, before she saw no more.**

* * *

 **Back with Team 8...**

Quite a few of the group were glaring at the book for the transition. They wanted to find out what happened to Naruko dammit!

 **It had taken Kurenai and Anko less than a minute to run up the stonewalls of the elevator to the observation post to see the distant towering form of Kogorō's _Jarinma no Jutsu_ smash through the wooden palisade and tromp off into the forest.**

 **"Dear Kami in heaven…Naruko had to fight THAT?" Kurenai exclaimed,**

Yuki put up pictures of what it looked like from Naruko's standpoint and the far away shot that the rest of Team 8 saw.

" _Holy shit_!" Kiba shouted as he back up in his seat, knocking his chair over in the process. While not to that extreme, quite a few of the others had their jaws hanging open at the sheer size of the thing, as well as the fact that Naruko had fought the thing off as well as she had.

 **"Hinata, what does the village look like now?"**

 **"L-like a worse ruin than it was." Hinata responded shakily, "There a-are several indications of a l-large-scale ninjutsu bombardment near t-the village market's former location. T-there also appears to be a h-hollow shell of roots that s-seems to have been c-cut in half near a large hole in the ground. Before that… _t-thing_ …left the clearing, I noted several cut marks on the arms, a-although they were rather shallow, as well as several minor burn marks."**

 **"Sounds like Naruko fought the damn thing to a standstill, at least for a while." Kurenai mused.**

 **The elevator arrived at that moment carrying Ino and Shin'ichi. Anko filled the Elder in in a couple of terse sentences, Ino listening worriedly.**

 **"Hmmm…judging by Kogorō's behaviour, he failed." Shin'ichi muttered, "Had he succeeded, he would have disengaged the _Jarinma no Jutsu_. That's what he did after the fall of Katagi Kijō, or so a few survivors who escaped claim."**

 **"Then…Naruko's still alive." Ino realise in relief. Hinata let a few tears leak out as she realised her friend was still among the living. Anko steeled herself to show no reaction outwardly, but inside she was dancing with joy that her lover had survived.**

 **Kurenai smiled, "Looks like Naruko is just as stubborn as her mother was reputed to be in the face of overwhelming odds."**

 **"Extraordinary…a _single genin_ held Inaba Kogorō at bay for over an hour." Shin'ichi muttered, "Kogorō is the strongest member of the Inaba Clan and Chief Retainer to the Yanagi Clan, so he is entrusted with more jutsu than the regular Inaba Clan members."**

 **"But…where is Naruko-chan?" Ino asked worriedly.**

 **"What is she likely to do, based on what you know of her personality?" Shin'ichi enquired.**

 **Ino deadpanned, "She'll go looking for the Yanagi Clan to beat the crap out of them."**

 **"Hah, good joke. No, really, what's she likely to do?" Shin'ichi asked.**

The group (excluding Naruto, Yuki and Hinata) deadpanned. It did sound like a joke until you got to know Naruto/Naruko. Then you got to know exactly how reckless they could be.

 **"Flower Girl just told you." Anko said with a sigh, "She hates people like the Yanagi, who show no respect for the dead. Since the Yanagi also sent an assassin after us, she's likely furious with them."**

 **"She's really _that_ reckless?" Shin'ichi asked in astonishment.**

 **"She's young and makes mistakes." Anko shrugged, "She's never really been hurt badly as a result of any of them, so she's never felt the need to learn restraint."**

 **"Well, in which case, we're going to have to move up our timetable." Shin'ichi said determinedly.**

 **"What timetable?" Kurenai asked suspiciously.**

 **"The assassination of Yanagi Sae and Yanagi Saeko." Shin'ichi replied, "I was about to tell you about the plan when we heard about the dome coming down."**

 **"I see." Kurenai said neutrally, "Please, continue, Shin'ichi-sama. I will pass judgement on the plan after I have heard it."**

 **"Ah, well the thing is, this storehouse, wasn't just a storehouse." The Elder replied with a smirk, "The Kashi Clan's First Clan Head had it built, along with a secret tunnel that links up with the wine cellar of Mokkijō to act as a secret invasion route, just in case. It was built of stone, rock and concrete that was well maintained right up until the day of the Clan's destruction."**

 **"Why didn't the Kashi Clan ever use it?" Ino asked with a frown.**

 **"Apparently the policy was to wait until the Yanagi Clan was split by civil war or besieged by allies before it was used." Shin'ichi replied, "My agent wasn't exactly certain of that, but it fits as well as any explanation of not using a useful resource such as a direct path into the enemy stronghold."**

 **"So, the Yanagi never knew of its existence?" Kurenai pressed, "And Sae has no idea as to its existence either?"**

 **"I had one of my now-deceased agents copy the master blueprints of the castle and send them to me a month before Sae's coup." Shin'ichi replied, "There was no sign of any tunnel leading out of or into the castle. Just to be safe, I ordered my agent to gain access to the secret blueprints for the castle. Once again, no tunnels were shown. If they aren't on the blueprints, they are either unknown to Sae or they were kept in the Clan Head's Personal Files and she knows and has taken steps to neutralise the tunnel. We have no way of knowing until we try."**

 **Kurenai turned to Anko. "What do you think?" she asked.**

 **"Depends. Why are we killing those two? What's the point? The damn demon tree will still be there."**

 **"True, but there _is_ a point to doing this." Shin'ichi smiled somewhat smugly, "I have received information that Sae has grown more paranoid over the last couple of years. She sees possible betrayal from every member of the Yanagi Clan, but she especially fears betrayal from her sister. She forced Saeko-sama to make modifications to the demon tree that mean that if Sae is killed, the tree will kill Saeko-sama. We can use this to either pressure Saeko-sama to somehow disconnect Sae from the Mashinju or kill them both with one stroke.**

 **"Either way, we put Sae out of power and we can then send to Konoha for some more ninja to help quarantine the area and evacuate what remains of my people before we attempt to deal with the thrice-be-damned demon tree."**

 **Anko and Kurenai were actually surprised by the old man's cunning and ruthlessness, while Ino and Hinata were far more concerned by the possible location of Naruko to be concerned with local politics.**

"The saying 'old age and treachery' isn't for nothing you know." Yuki remarked.

 **"Very well." Kurenai conceded, "We'll do it. And there's no better time than the present. Where's the tunnel's entrance?"**

 **"Follow me." Shin'ichi led them back to the elevator, which took them back to the large chamber. He then led them down a gently sloping tunnel that spiralled down until they came to an immense octagonal steel door. It bore the symbol of the Kashi Clan across its entire surface and was bare of any handles, knobs or switches. The only thing that resembled a lock was a small panel to one side.**

 **"The Kashi Clan were very paranoid themselves." Shin'ichi remarked, "Only a member of the Kashi Clan by blood can open this door. Fortunately, my mother was a blood-member of the Kashi Clan, so I can -and have- open this door."**

 **"And the door on the other side?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"The same." Shin'ichi replied.**

 **"I suppose you want to tag along then, Shin'ichi-sama." Kurenai stated resignedly.**

 **"You can bet your Hitai-ate I do." The Elder said fiercely, "My Clan has been destroyed, my people butchered like livestock and my home has been razed into ruins. I need to at least accompany you in order to see the wrongs righted."**

 **Anko put a hand on Kurenai's shoulder, "Nai-chan, let him come. He has the right and he is from a ninja Clan, so he ought to be able to keep up."**

 **"Of course I can." Shin'ichi growled, "I've _forgotten_ more about ninjutsu than you whippersnappers have _ever_ learned."**

 **"Fine." Kurenai was getting tired of constantly being opposed by people with the moral high ground. It made making a decision from a neutral standpoint a living nightmare, "You can come. Here are the rules of engagement. If we come across a member of the Inaba or Yanagi Clans, we kill them before they can use any of their Kinjutsu. Should they use the corpse animation or root binding jutsu, we ignore them and go for the user before they can use the _Jarinma no Jutsu_. Understood?"**

 **"Hai!" Team 8 plus Shin'ichi responded.**

 **"Good. Then Shin'ichi-sama, if you would?" Kurenai gestured at the panel that seemed to open the door.**

 **The Elder tottered over to the door and ran through a long sequence of handsigns and a low chant in a mumble that none of the kunoichi could make out. Finally, Shin'ichi ended the chant with a shouted, " _Satori no Tobira: Kaifū_! (Door of Enlightenment: Unseal!)"**

 **The door shimmered before melting away like liquid mercury, revealing a dark tunnel that stretched into darkness. Shin'ichi walked over to the team looking pleased with himself.**

 **"Whew! I've missed using my chakra, I must say." the retired ninja said with a small smile.**

 **"'Door of Enlightenment'?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"The brother who built this door was an arrogant so-and-so." Shin'ichi replied, "He viewed any castle and lands governed by him or his family to be far more enlightened than any other, thus the name for the door."**

"Arrogant much?" Ino scoffed.

"Again, provincial ninja clans." Yuki answered with a shrug. "They haven't left the area since the Warring Clans Period ended."

 **"Let's get moving." Anko said tensely, "The sooner we kill those mad bitches, the sooner we will know what happened to Naru-chan."**

 **Aside from an odd look from Kurenai, no one commented on Anko's repeated use of the '-chan' honorific as they entered the tunnel. As they walked, the Team took in the tunnel. It was a stark, concrete grey tunnel that was utterly dull in its mediocrity. There was phosphorescent moss across the ceiling that provided absolute minimal lighting for the tunnel, which was economical, if not all that terribly good at actually illuminating the tunnel much.**

 **"I sent men in to maintain the tunnel only last week, although only up to the halfway point." Shin'ichi said in a quiet voice.**

 **"Why only up until there?" Hinata asked in an equally quiet voice.**

 **"There is another door that requires opening. It comes out in an underground cavern and I don't rightly know where the other door is." Shin'ichi confessed sheepishly, "For safety reasons, the map of the tunnel was split into three parts by the Kashi Clan. The Kashi Clan Head, who burnt it before being captured, held one part, the central part. My agents 'acquired' the other two parts from the Clan Heir and the Washigan-Jō Castellan respectively. The door should be relatively easy to spot, however, as it looks exactly like the first two."**

 **"Fair enough." Anko said begrudgingly, "Anything else you've neglected to tell us?"**

 **"Not that I can think of." Shin'ichi replied breezily.**

 **At length, the group came to another door bearing the Kashi Clan symbol and another panel. Shin'ichi once again ran through his long handsign sequence and odd chant, this time ending with a shouted, " _Hakana no Tobira: Kaifū_! (Door of Transience: Unseal!)"**

 **The door vanished like the other one had and the team stepped forward into the cavern. It really was quite beautiful, with shining quartz seams in the walls that reflected the sunlight coming from the hole in the ceiling.**

 **"This must be naturally formed from a volcanic eruption." Shin'ichi said in awe, "We are fortunate for this happenstance; the Mashinju can only grow in fertile soil."**

 **They were interrupted from further conversation by a shriek of fear from Hinata.**

 **"Hinata? What is it?" Kurenai said worriedly as she came to the side of the distressed girl.**

 **"N-N-N-Naruko-chan!" Hinata sobbed as she pointed at a figure that was barely visible on the bank of the large lake that took up a quarter of the cavern. It was the battered and bruised form of their lost teammate.**

 **Anko was running to her side in a flash, closely followed by the rest of the team. They skidded to a halt next to the shallowly breathing figure of Uzumaki Naruko, Anko using a diagnosis jutsu to scan her for injuries.**

 **"…Shit!" Anko cursed, "That Kogorō bastard is dead meat for this!"**

 **"What's the damage?" Kurenai asked intently.**

 **"For a start, she has mild hypothermia that is bordering on medium," Anko snarled as she used her _Shōsen no Jutsu_ on her student's right arm, "Then there's her _actual_ injuries! Her right arm is broken in _three_ different places; her chest has several clean breaks, along with more than a handful of minor fractures! Her spine has several slightly damaged vertebrae, nothing I can't fix though, thank kami. Her internal organs are a bit bruised, but no serious damage, although her leg muscles are slightly torn. What the hell did he _do_ to her to cause this kind of damage?!"**

The girls were definitely getting angry and upset in Naruko's stead as they heard the damage and injuries listed off.

 **"The gauntlet!" Kurenai said and pointed at the En'ō Kago-te. In the very centre, it had a small dent about a millimetre deep and wide. Anko gaped in astonishment.**

 **"What the _hell_?! What kind of kind of impact could dent _Adamantine_?!" she yelped.**

 **"Adamantine? The legendary metal?" Shin'ichi asked in astonishment, "I thought it was just a myth!"**

 **"It was a gift to her from the Sandaime Hokage, the only Summoner of the Monkey Clan." Kurenai replied, "It was forged of chakra metal and Naruko's own chakra, transforming it into Adamantine. It also transforms into a sword, which is what Naruko used to cut the roots. You can see how the battle left her."**

 **"Nai-chan, she's too weak to move." Anko said urgently, "She needs warmth and healing, in that order."**

 **"Right." Kurenai looked around and saw a crate on one wall near the door they came through, "Hello, what do we have here?"**

 **She walked over and inspected it. The crate was made of metal and emblazoned with the Kashi Clan's symbol. She cautiously opened it with a kunai. The crate was crammed full of camping gear, all standard shinobi issue as of fifty years ago. There was also a large stack of dry wood and tinder to the other side.**

 **"Hinata! Get over here and examine this wood for traps with your _Byakugan_ so we can use it to help Naruko!" Kurenai shouted over to her student, who was hovering at Naruko's side. Hinata moved so fast she almost seemed to use the _Shunshin no Jutsu_ , vanishing from Naruko's side and appearing beside Kurenai.**

 **Hinata quickly examined the entire box in minute detail before declaring it safe. They quickly built a campfire near Naruko and changed her out of her wet clothes once Anko had healed her all she could without exhausting her chakra.**

 **"The campfire isn't enough." Shin'ichi said as he gazed at Naruko's trembling form.**

 **"I can sort that out." Anko said as she devoured a food pill. She ran through a handsign sequence as she knelt next to the campfire.**

 **" _Katon: Taiyo-Ken no Jutsu_! (Fire Style: Heliosphere Jutsu!)" She muttered as she breathed a slim jet of fire into the campfire. Almost immediately, there was a marked rise in the temperature of the flames, as well as the range their warmth.**

Quite a few of the boys, Sasuke especially, looked at Yuki in curiosity at the jutsu.

Yuki merely shrugged "No idea, my guess is it's one of the higher level non-combat fire jutsu... Although to extend the range of heat like that should take more control than chakra... could it be because of the seal?" the last two sentences Yuki mumbled to himself in thought for a moment, before he snapped himself out of it and returned to the story.

 **"I'll need to reapply the jutsu in a couple of hours' time." Anko said as she slumped in exhaustion, "Wake me then, 'kay?"**

Yuki resumed muttering to himself for a moment. "Ah, the chakra cost was more for what she built up to extend the allotted time of the jutsu..."

 **"Okay, Anko-sensei." Ino said softly as she started cleaning the sweat off Naruko's brow as the girl started developing a fever.**

 **Team 8 and their guide sat a vigil around their teammate, who had clearly fought until she could fight no longer, and awaited her awakening.**

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Naruko's Perspective**

 **[Drip!]**

 **"Urrrgh…." Naruko groaned as she regained consciousness. Her head was pounding as if someone was using it as a battering ram to break down a castle gate.**

 **She sat up and looked around warily. She…was in a sewer? OK, what the _hell_? The last she could remember, she had been in an underground cavern of some kind. How the hell did she end up here all of a sudden?**

Yuki then spread an arm out to the side, as if presenting something "Dalies and Mentlegen," he always took humor in that line, "Welcome to the Sealscape. This is the mental representation in Naruto's Mindscape where the seal that holds back the Kyūbi manifests itself. Due to its nature, anyone who enters Naruto's mind will end up there as well, which is why it is heavily discouraged for any Yamanaka to dive inside, as there is a high chance the delver will be killed and their physical body left brain dead from the Kyūbi attacking them through the seal, which takes the mental form of a cage big enough for his arms to at least reach out of."

Ino shivered at the thought of such, and agreed with the reason why.

 **She got to her feet and looked around. The place was dark and dank, fetid water was underfoot, yet she wasn't wet, despite the fact she had been lying on top of it. Stranger and stranger. She shrugged and looked around some more.**

 **The sewer seemed to have pipes across the top of the tunnels and Naruko somehow knew where they came from. She turned that way and, lacking a better idea of what to do, started walking that way.**

 **As she walked, Naruko considered the fact she could walk at all, considering the condition she had been in before she blacked out. Hell she should be screaming in agony right now considering her estimation of what her injuries had been.**

 **"Well, I'll take what I can get." Naruko spoke aloud, "And if I'm not in pain, I'll take that, thank you very much."**

 **She kept walking and eventually came to a massive chamber that had pipes across the walls and ceiling. They all led behind a massive set of metal gates that blocked off access to the second half of the chamber. In the centre of the gates was a giant paper tag that had the kanji '封' (Seal) written atop of it.**

 **Naruko stood frozen as a wave of the most evil chakra she had ever felt washed over her from behind the bars. An orange glow suddenly sprang into existence and a massive face filled the length and breadth of the bars. The teeth were massive, even the smallest being as big as one of the Konoha gates and Naruko could tell that the teeth were set in a snout.**

 **It was the eyes that drew her attention. They were crimson red and glowed with malevolent power. The face, despite its animal appearance, seemed to be…smirking at her.**

 **Naruko gulped. She had known this day would come eventually, but she hadn't thought it would come so soon.**

 **"Kyūbi no Kitsune." she whispered.**

 **"Hahahahaha! Indeed!" a massively deep voice boomed. It was deep and guttural sounding, filled with barely contained rage and hatred, "I am the mighty Kyūbi no Yōko, he who creates natural disasters with his very presence, he whose tails smash mountains and send tsunami crashing to the shores. I am the strongest of the nine Bijū, the mightiest of all beings."**

"It can talk?!" Some of the genin shouted.

"Yes, HE can." Yuki answered sternly "And I would appreciate it if you didn't refer to him as an it."

Naruto understood the sentiment, and wholeheartedly agreed. He had enough of that from the more ignorant villagers.

 **Naruko felt the Kyūbi's KI blasting her with such strength, she barely held on to consciousness as he spoke the next words.**

 **"And I am the one sealed in a pathetic, weak excuse for a being such as you." The Kyūbi growled at her, "So, my jailer _finally_ decides to visit. What do you want, brat?"**

 **Naruko took a moment to compose herself, another to think on what she wanted to say. Then she looked the Kyūbi straight in the eyes.**

 **"I want you to tell me who the miserable bastardized son of a bitch who killed my mother is!" she shouted at the Kyūbi.**

Naruto's eyes hardened as he heard what his other had said.

 **The Kyūbi regarded her for a moment, and then burst into laughter.**

Yuki closed the book for a moment to summon a glass of water, which he proceeded to drain. Following that, he opened the book to the next chapter "Ok, so next up, Chapter 13: Nine Tails and Demon Trees"


	15. Ch 14: Nine-Tails and Demon Tree

Yuki cracked his neck and fingers, cleared his throat... basically anything he needed to do to get ready for the next chapter. " **Chapter 14: Nine Tails and Demon Trees** "

 **Naruko's Mindscape**

 **Naruko glared angrily at the Kyūbi as it laughed uproariously as if it was being sprayed with laughing gas.**

The listeners had no idea what that was, but could hazard a guess at what it does. Yuki merely replied with, "Laughing Gas is the nickname given to Nitrous Oxide, N2O. It's a gas that, when inhaled, causes a pleasant foggy feeling in your brain and acts as a relaxant and a weak pain killer that is only really used nowadays by dentists and those who use it recreationally. It has been blown out of proportion in certain cartoons into a gas that causes uncontrollable laughter."

 **"Oi! What the hell's so damn funny?!" she shouted angrily.**

 **"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all!" the Kyūbi chortled, "Still brat, what would you do if I told you the identity of the one who dragged me out of my previous host?"**

 **"I'd track the bastard down and kill him." Naruko stated coldly. The Kyūbi looked at her for a moment.**

Naruto had a similar cold look on his face. Instead of looking shocked or scared, most of the others agreed with Naruto's other.

 **"Brat, the person who ripped me from your mother was able to fight on equal terms with the thrice-accursed Yondaime Hokage." Kyūbi growled, "You would last less than a second against him as you are now. You barely even survived against that pathetic Hashirama knockoff!"**

This got some chuckles at the apt description of the vampiric tree.

 **"Considering how I've been handicapped all my life, I think I did quite well." Naruko retorted, "And do you think I didn't realize the bastard was strong? He or she killed a room full of some of the best-trained shinobi in Konoha without taking a single wound in return! Of course, a person who could do all that is strong! All I have to do is get stronger!"**

 **"'Get stronger' is it?" Kyūbi murmured, "So, you seek power for the sake of revenge then? Are you so much like the Uchiha brat?"**

"Hell no!" Naruto shouted "I will never be that broody!"

Sasuke looked irked at Naruto's declaration.

 **"No, I am not." Naruko ground out, "If he came after you once, he'll more than likely come after you again. That means he'll come after me. If he comes after me, _my friends_ will be drawn into it. No way in _hell_ will I let him hurt them. Over my dead body."**

"Exactly!" Naruto nodded, eyes full of conviction.

 **"Hmmm…you Uzumaki are interesting ones." The Kyūbi remarked, "Very different from the damn Uchiha, for all you are related by blood. I want you to listen here, brat.**

 **I. Despise. Humans.**

 **I hate you all. You have imprisoned the other Bijū into humans in order to create weapons, treating us like mindless monsters. I was controlled by Uchiha Madara's _Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan_ (Eternal Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye) in order to give him the strength to match Senju Hashirama at the Valley of the End.**

 **Afterwards, your ancestor, Uzumaki Mito imprisoned me within her, for no better reason than the possibility that I 'might' be used by another Uchiha to attack your pathetic village! I have been either a slave or a prisoner for almost a century and the ones who imprisoned me were YOUR KAMI-FORSAKEN CLAN!"**

Naruto felt downtrodden at that, and dare he say it, felt bad about how the Kyūbi had been treated. He made a promise to himself to treat the fox better than that once he got to meet the kitsune.

Inside the seal, Kurama merely scoffed at the thoughts of his jailer, he would wait and see... after all, he was nothing if not patient...

The others were starting to realize, albeit slowly, that the bijū of legends weren't the mindless beasts they were told they were, and were coming to terms with that fact.

 **The Fox bellowed the last part with such force that Naruko had to stick herself to the ground by channeling chakra to her feet.**

 **The Kyūbi glared down at her. "As I say, I despise you humans. I despise the Uchiha and Uzumaki more because you both possess jutsu that can control and bind me respectively."**

 **Naruko recalled something she had read in the Uzu Archives. "You mean my mother's Chakra Rensa no Jutsu (Chakra Chain Jutsu), don't you?"**

 **"It wasn't merely your mothers Jutsu, brat." Kyūbi replied with a snort at her ignorance, "Only a select few Uzumaki women in each generation, the ones with the densest and largest chakra reserves, could use it true, but it was not a Jutsu limited to my previous host alone."**

 **"Huh…wonder why I couldn't find any mention of specific jutsu for it in the Uzu Archive?" Naruko wondered.**

 **"Because there are no set Jutsu for the chains, fool." the Kyūbi sneered, "The chains act according to their owners will. Weapons, barriers…there is little that they cannot do. Including bind me, curse your mother."**

Naruto was now torn between feeling sad for the Kyūbi, awe at how badass chakra chains sounded, and miffed that he won't be able to learn it.

 **"Don't suppose you know how to activate them, do you?" Naruko asked casually.**

 **"Do you really think I am stupid enough to tell you that?" The giant fox asked scornfully.**

 **"No, but it was worth a shot." Naruko replied with a shrug.**

 **"To return to what I was talking about…I have no reason to help you. I have been treated disgracefully by your clan and a prisoner has no obligation to help his jailor." The Kyūbi growled.**

 **"I didn't ask you to." Naruko snarled, "Because you were sealed in me, I've been almost assassinated so many times I've lost count!"**

 **"And it was because you have me sealed within you that you were able to survive. How about a bit of gratitude, brat?" the Kyūbi snarled back at her.**

 **"Thanks!" Naruko said, "But in case you didn't know, this seal will kill you _permanently_ if I die an unnatural death!"**

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked.

"It's something the Yondaime put in to _'encourage'_ the Kyūbi to ensure Naruto lives for a long time." Yuki explained. "In a lot of other, darker, alternates worlds, Naruko has lost limbs and had them regenerate, regrown eyes and even regenerated the function of his…ahem, equipment, after having them injected with acid."

Every male crossed their legs in automatic defense of their own 'family jewels' and the females (especially the ones who had slept with Naruto) expressed outrage that someone had done that to him.

"So yeah, if Naruto dies an _unnatural_ death, by poison or in combat, the Kyūbi goes as well, _permanently_." Yuki nodded before continuing.

 **"Of course I know that, brat! I can feel the tethers of the thrice accursed Shinigami on my soul!" the fox shot back at her.**

 **"Then you should have the common sense to realize that hindering me will get you killed along with me!" Naruko said angrily, "And don't try and bullshit me, I read my mother's journal! I** _know_ **that you've been interfering with my chakra control!"**

This made Naruto glare down at his belly in outrage.

Which would look rather awkward for those that didn't know about the fox.

 **"Humph…so you did your research…so what?" the fox snarled, "As long as your heart is intact and your head remains connected to your shoulders, my chakra can and will heal you. You don't need to be strong, you simply need to survive."**

 **"Gah, will you just stop being so damn _awkward_!" Naruko said angrily, "The maths is simple. _I_ die, _you_ die. If I have to constantly wrestle with you for every bit of control I can get, I am far more likely to die! Why the hell are you so determined to cut off your own nose to spite your face, dumb fox?!"**

 **The Kyūbi narrowed his eyes at Naruko dangerously. "Be careful how you address me, brat. I am far older than you can imagine and have seen more pain and suffering than you can possibly comprehend." he growled, "I'm fairly certain that merely reciting a few of the more agonizing instances would rip your sanity into pieces!"**

 **"Tch. I am Uzumaki Naruko and I can do worse to you!" She said defiantly.**

 **"THAT I sincerely doubt." the Kyūbi said dismissively.**

 **"Oh, that does it!" Naruko muttered with a twitching eyebrow, "Now you've asked for it. _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"**

 **Two hundred Naruko-Clones phased into existence. The Kyūbi merely raised an eyebrow.**

 **"A measly two hundred clones are not going to impress me, brat." he informed his jailor haughtily.**

 **"Ladies." Naruko said with a positively evil smile, "Operation 'Green Death', if you please."**

The adults, especially Sarutobi, looked somewhat worried at this point, having recognized Naruto's 'Pranking Face' on his other.

 **" _Henge no Jutsu_!" the Naruko-clones chanted as they vanished in plumes of chakra smoke. The Kyūbi continued to watch bemusedly.**

 **When the smoke cleared, the Kyūbi's jaw dropped. Standing there were a hundred copies of Rock Lee and an equal number of copies of Maito Gai. That on its own would be bad enough, but Naruko had added a twist: they were only clad in red fundoshi (loincloths).**

 **"Commence operation!" Naruko ordered.**

 **The Gai-clones charged at the Lee-clones enthusiastically, while the Lee-clones charged enthusiastically at the Gai-clones. When they met, 100 almost naked manly hugs were exchanged….**

 **…to the backdrop of 100 setting suns on beaches!**

The screen blurred as the sight became pixelated to protect the viewers. While the graduates were complaining about not being able to see it, Lee was whining (in a youthful manly way *shudder*) about the censorship, Tenten, Neji and all of the adults slumped into their seats in relief.

 **The great Kyūbi no Kitsune, who had indeed seen more than his fair share of horrible and disgusting things in his long lifetime, stared in horror at the sight before him both repulsed and unable to look away.**

In the seal, Kurama had a sense of foreboding that he just could _not_ shake off.

 **Naruko grinned and the clones vanished in a great explosion of smoke. It took the fox a moment or two to recover, but when he did, he glared at the smirking kunoichi.**

 **"You…are a vile, sadistic, evil bitch." he accused her, sounding almost impressed.**

Naruto looked thoughtful, while Kurama felt the foreboding increase!

 **"Considering one of my sensei is the most sadistic kunoichi in Konoha, I'll take that as a complement." Naruko replied smugly.**

Anko, over with the other sensei, cheered along at the compliment.

 **"Humph." the Kyūbi snorted, "Fine, brat. You want my cooperation, do you? Pass three tests and I'll cooperate. Fail even one and you are stuck as you are."**

 **"Oh?" Naruko raised an eyebrow, "And those three tests would be…what exactly?"**

 **"The tests will begin once you've dealt with that fucking so-called 'demon tree'." Kyūbi informed her, "For this time, and this time only, I will lend you power, my chakra, for free and with no demerits."**

 **"Why?" Naruko asked suspiciously.**

 **"I knew the Rikudō Sennin. This… _abomination_ of a tree bears some of his chakra, even after all these years." the fox replied, "He was the only human I ever respected and I cannot and will not allow his chakra to be misused like this for a purpose he would disapprove of. Towards that end, I will cooperate with you. As a gesture of good faith…here."**

Knowing what was coming, Yuki headed it off "The Bijū are the children of the Rikudō Sennin, who created them by splitting the Jūbi no Daidarabotchi's chakra into nine parts."

 **Knowledge flowed into Naruko's mind, the knowledge of a powerful Katon ninjutsu.**

 **"My two nature affinities are Fire and Wind." the Kyūbi informed her, "Wind will not be useful against the cursed tree, but Fire will be. Sadly, your repertoire is pathetic and your affinity is weak, so this will be a useful tool for you, although you can only use it once before the knowledge fades. Now Begone, I tire of your presence."**

 **"This jutsu will be conditional for you to gain Naruto; we'll have to see before you are granted it."**

 **Before she could protest, a strong wave of chakra swept her out of the mindscape. The Kyūbi lay down and closed his eyes, dreaming of the day that he would be free of being caged.**

* * *

 **Midway Point of the Kashi Clan Secret Tunnel**

 **2 Hours After the Discovery of Naruko.**

 **"Why won't she wake up?" Ino asked worriedly as she wiped more sweat form Naruko's brow. Hinata soaked another cloth in water to clean it nearby.**

This got the girls worried again as they remembered the condition that their new boyfriend's other was in.

 **"Her body has been put under immense levels of stress." Anko replied, "The fight with that Kogorō bastard, whatever attack caused that dent in her gauntlet, almost drowning in the water, catching hypothermia…it's a wonder she's doing as well as she is."**

 **"Quite." Morimura Shin'ichi agreed. The elderly ex-ninja had been tending the campfire as he spoke, ensuring it was topped off with more fuel. He sat down on a rock with a sigh before continuing, "Your teammate possess a level of physical resilience that most seasoned shinobi would envy. Even in my prime, I doubt I could have matched her."**

 **Kurenai passed out some rations bars to everyone. "Still, this is worrying. She has never taken this long to recover from an injury before. Her healing factor usually takes care of things quickly."**

Those that cared were worried about Naruto's other, hoping she wasn't permanently injured.

 **"Too…much…damage…to heal…quickly." Naruko croaked, startling the entire team.**

 **"Naruko-chan?" Hinata asked tremulously.**

 **Naruko smiled tiredly. "In…the flesh…" she replied.**

 **"Why is it that the moment we let you out of our sight, you manage to get wounded so badly?" Ino asked sternly, although the tears of relief falling from her eyes undermined the tone of her voice.**

 **"Natural…talent?" Naruko joked, "…Water…please…?"**

 **Anko gently raised the girl's head and put a canteen to her lips. Naruko gulped down half the canteen before her thirst was sated.**

 **"Naruko, I know you are tired, but we have to know how you got into this condition." Kurenai said gently, "Can you tell us what happened?"**

 **The Uzumaki Heiress nodded. "I…after you all retreated; he emerged from the ground as a… _thing_. I'd call him a treeman if I had to describe him. During the first clash between us, I was knocked through several buildings. Damn bastard packs quite a punch. Not very agile though.**

 **"I hit him with Doryū Taiga, followed by almost every jutsu I know, multiple times via my Shadow Clones…and he just used _one_ of his root jutsu to destroy all of my clones as if he wasn't even affected by it."**

 **Anko cursed, "I knew we should have given you a B-Rank Jutsu or two to learn!"**

 **"Meh, doubt it would have made a difference." Naruko replied, "He was strong, stronger than I am at the moment…anyway, after he pulled that dome Jutsu out of his ass, he and I fought in close combat for a while. My _Kongōgatana_ was able to cut the roots that made up his body, but only shallowly because they were packed so tightly together. I didn't try to cut any tendons because frankly I don't think he had any to cut."**

 **"From what I have found out, the user of the _Jarinma no Jutsu_ is protected beneath countless layers of roots in the centre of the chest." Shin'ichi put in.**

 **Naruko looked at him confusedly. "Who…?"**

 **"Ah, my apologies. I am the former Elder of Morimura Village." Shin'ichi said with a cordial nod of his head, "Morimura Shin'ichi, charmed to meet you."**

 **"Uzumaki Naruko. The same." Naruko returned the nod.**

 **"Carry on Naruko. What happened?" urged Kurenai. Ino and Hinata were also listening avidly.**

 **The Uzumaki Heiress sighed. "I decided to end it with a single attack, one I…can't use all that well yet. It backfired on me. My _Uzumaki-Ryū Kenjutsu: Kaen Ittōryōdan_ (Uzumaki Style Sword Technique: Blazing Single Stroke Bisection) was too damn powerful and blinded me for a moment. He replaced himself with a root clone and waited for me to strike and let my guard down before he disarmed me and bound me with those damn roots. My own self confidence was my downfall."**

 **"Lesson learned?" Anko asked with a scowl.**

 **"Definitely." Naruko said fervently, "No using jutsu I haven't mastered in actual combat!"**

Near everyone burned that line into their brain, intent to remember it.

 **"Good." Anko nodded, "Now, what the hell damaged your gauntlet?"**

 **Naruko raised her -thankfully fully healed- right arm and looked at the dent in it in shock. "What the…oh hell, I am _so_ lucky I managed to block that Jutsu with the En'ō Kago-te, but Enki-san is gonna murder me for damaging it so badly!"**

 **"Enki?" Shin'ichi asked.**

 **"The Master Armour Blacksmith of the Monkey Clan." Naruko replied, "Anyway, Kogorō turned his arm into a spear of some kind and used a powerful technique called _Jishin Tensō_."**

 **"The fortress breaker!" Shin'ichi gaped in astonishment, "Inaba Kogorō used that technique to break through the walls of Katagi Kijō, five feet of stone, mortar and concrete. It is the strongest physical attack in the Inaba Clan's arsenal!"**

That made the adults very surprised. Anything strong enough to do that, even if the castle was a rural ninja clan's castle, would have to be a high-A or low-S Rank jutsu…and all it had been able to do was put a tiny dimple in Adamantine.

 **"Huh…well there's a thing." Naruko looked curious for a moment, and then shrugged. "Well, he made several errors. First, he bound my right arm over my chest when he caught me, and aimed for it during his attack. Secondly, my left hand was still free to make a handsign in order to cancel the transformation of the En'ō Kago-te. And thirdly, he trapped me right above the underwater waterway, so when the gauntlet blocked his attack, which was also partially absorbed by the roots trapping me, the ground beneath me crumbled and sent me into the water, eventually washing me up here."**

 **Kurenai shook her head in wonderment. "You may berate yourself for your overconfidence, Naruko, but in my opinion you fought valiantly against a foe which you knew nothing about. Despite your lack of knowledge, you did manage to damage his body to the point that he was forced to shed a layer of his roots in order to defeat you. THAT was well done, Genin Uzumaki."**

 **Naruko teared up a bit at her sensei's compliment. "Arigatou, Kurenai-sensei." she whispered, before tiredness overcame her and she drifted off to sleep.**

 **"She must be exhausted." Ino whispered as she unsealed a blanket and covered her friend up to let her get some sleep.**

 **"I think we could all use some rest." Kurenai remarked, "Let's use the camping equipment left by the Kashi Clan and get some sleep. I'll take first watch."**

* * *

 **1 Hour Later**

 **Research Lab, Basement, Mokkijō**

 **A faint scream ripped through the lab from the room above, causing a black haired woman working at a bench to raise her head to look at the ceiling. The woman wore a plain grey kimono, with the crest of the Yanagi Clan emblazoned on the back. Although the kimono was plain to the point of being drab, it did not detract from the woman's natural beauty or grace when she moved.**

 **"Sounds like Sae-nee-sama is still punishing Kogorō." the woman mused aloud as she tucked a lock of her neck length hair behind her each reflexively before returning to her work on the bench before her.**

"Yes, she's being cold, but only because she's so used to hearing it happen over the almost decade since her sister took over." Yuki put in, noticing the disturbed expressions on the genin's faces.

 **The screaming stopped a minute or so later and the woman sighed again as she moved towards the small lab's door. She knew what would happen next.**

 **"SAEKO! Get your useless carcass up here right now!" An angry female voice bellowed from above her.**

 **Yanagi Saeko rolled her eyes at how predictable her elder sister had become. She walked up the stairs and entered her sister's room without bothering to knock.**

 **Within, Sae, dressed in yet another expensive silk kimono, stood above the shaking form of Inaba Kogorō, wielding the Yanagi Clan Leader's Honor Blade, the Nagamaki _Suiyō_ (Weeping Willow). She placed the edge of the blade against Kogorō's throat, making the man freeze.**

 **"Now, Kogorō. Do you understand the price if you fail me again?" Sae asked him softly.**

 **"H-Hai…Sae-sama…I will not fail you again…I swear it!" Kogorō gasped hoarsely.**

 **"Good." Sae purred.**

"...bitch..." While the comment was expected, the fact that it came from the ever sweet Hinata came as a surprise to those listening along.

 **Saeko looked at the ground, not wanting to see the look of ecstasy and pleasure that she knew her sister was wearing on her face. She was a sadist of the worst kind, enjoying not just people's pain and suffering and causing it, but also forcing them into the depths of despair while doing it.**

Even Anko had a look of disgust at that; despair was Ibiki's department dammit!

 **Sae picked up the black saya from the sword stand and sheathed Suiyō. She then regarded Saeko with her mad azure eyes.**

 **"Saeko, I need you to strengthen the roots." Sae ordered her imperiously, "One of the Konoha scum has a weapon that can cut them. This _fool_ -" here she sneered down at the cowering Kogorō, "-let her flee and couldn't even take her weapon!"**

 **Saeko carefully considered what she was going to say here. The last time she had bluntly stated that something Sae wanted her to do was impossible, she had been beaten unconscious.**

"Idiot."

 **"That…might be more difficult than you might imagine, Ane-ue (Elder Sister)." Saeko said at last, "The roots are already strengthened to their limit, and the bark cannot be strengthened either if we want to continue to use them for the Yanagi Kinjutsu. The only way I could improve them would be to retract all of the roots and enhance them from the ground up, which would take at least a year."**

 **Sae's beautiful face twisted in anger. "I don't want your sniveling excuses, I want results!" she shrieked at Saeko in fury.**

 **"Ane-ue, I am only telling you the truth. Morisato Kazenotsuchi himself could not do more." Saeko replied impassively, "I have, however, finished the development of two new jutsu which might be of use."**

 **"…Humph." Sae grunted, not happy that her insane idea couldn't be implemented, but mollified by the 'bribe' of two additional jutsu to the Yanagi's arsenal, "Is everything in place for the Fukyū Jukai no Keikaku (Everlasting Sea of Trees Plan)?"**

Yuki had to actively use his spatial manipulation powers to hold some of the listeners in place over the three reading areas. No matter how much he wanted to let them jump into the story and beat the ever hating shit out of Sae, he couldn't allow it. Mostly because Sae's comeuppance will be a thing of beauty and would help settle the groups down.

 **Saeko stiffened at that name. "Y-Yes, Ane-ue, although we still require the Konoha Shinobi in order to generate the Natural Energy required to commence the plan." she said haltingly.**

 **"A simple matter." Sae said dismissively, "Sooner or later they will attack us here. They cannot escape as long as the kekkai remains up and so they will come to us, like moths to the flame."**

 **Sae's eyes blazed with fanaticism as she spoke, her large chest heaving as she began to rant about how the Yanagi would soon rule the world, etc., etc. Saeko just tuned her out.**

 **She had far too much practice at it after a decade of hearing them on a nearly constant basis.**

* * *

 **The Next Day, 21.00 (9.00 pm)**

 **With Team 8**

 **Naruko was feeling loads better the next day, thanks to the Kyūbi's chakra, she was sure. After meeting him, she was conflicted about how she felt about him. On one hand, he was the one who had attacked Konoha twelve years ago, killing and maiming hundreds.**

 **On the other hand, it was clear that the Kyūbi had insinuated that it had been an Uchiha who had ripped him out of her mother, at least that was what Naruko guessed by his repeated references to the Uchiha Clan's ability to control him. He also bore resentment towards her clan for supplying his 'prisons' for the last hundred years.**

 ** _'Considering that when I die, my Clan will be extinct, he really should let that go.'_ she thought dryly as she ran through an intermediate level kata to loosen her muscles after the beating she had received the previous day.**

Naruto flinched at that reminder, his girls had thoughts tearing between holding off until they were older and... rectifying... the lack of Uzumaki running around, if nothing else but to get the look of crushing loneliness off of Naruto's face.

 **'I still despise the Uchiha Clan even though there are so few of them left, brat. What makes your Clan any different?' A voice said inside her head, making Naruko freeze in shock.**

 ** _'K-Kyūbi? You can speak to me outside my mindscape?'_ she thought in shock.**

 **'Obviously. To answer your question, yes, it was an Uchiha who controlled me.' Kyūbi responded, 'He claimed to be Uchiha Madara, but it wasn't him. I would recognize that bastard Madara's chakra anywhere and it wasn't his.'**

 ** _'Would you have attacked Konoha if you had been released, but not controlled?'_ Naruko asked him.**

 **'No, I would not.' he said firmly, 'While I despise humans, I do not kill them unless they either attack me, anger me or both. Although Konoha was cutting it close to that line by keeping me prisoner for a century, I wouldn't have attacked the village given any choice in the matter.'**

 ** _'Huh…you're a lot more honorable than the legends about you say.'_ Naruko commented.**

 **'I am a Kitsune and thus bound by the strictures of my kind.' the Kyūbi replied haughtily, 'Just as most of the other Bijū are bound by their species' strictures. You are slightly influenced by me in that regard.'**

 ** _'Say what?'_ Naruko asked in astonishment.**

Naruto immediately sat at attention, the fox influenced him?

 **'When was the last time you broke a promise?' Kyūbi asked silkily, 'Your mischievous side is also increased somewhat by the trickster nature of Kitsune.'**

Naruto thought about it for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. He could accept those parts.

 ** _'Okay…I'll leave that for the moment.'_ Naruko told him, _'Even if only because we're going to infiltrate the enemy stronghold soon. Thanks for the rapid healing, by the way.'_**

 **'…You're welcome.' The Kyūbi replied shortly. Naruko got the impression that he hadn't been thanked by either her mother or Mito for anything.**

Naruto added thanking the Kyūbi for the healing on top of everything else he'd have to do.

 **Choosing to ignore the fox demon's reaction for the moment, Naruko told him, _'I'll contact you like this again when I need your chakra. Alright?'_**

 **'Hm. Do as you please.' Kyūbi said shortly before falling silent.**

 **"Naruko-chan! Dinner!" Hinata called to her from the campfire.**

 **The team had decided to infiltrate at night, rather than in the middle of the day. They had spent the day maintaining and inventorying their equipment, resting and, in Naruko's case, running through every one of the kata that she knew and ensuring that her body was completely recovered from the battering ram that she was hit with the previous day. She rested frequently and was pleased to see that her body was back at the pinnacle of health.**

 **"Coming!" Naruko replied. She put the Fox out of her mind. She'd tell Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei after the mission was completed. They couldn't afford any distractions right now.**

 **With that thought, Naruko trotted off to have dinner, which was not ration bars, thank kami.**

Seeing Tenten and Neji pull faces at the mention of the things did _not_ fill the Rookie 9 with confidence about the things.

 **"Hey Ji-san, gotta question for you." Naruko said after they finished.**

 **Shin'ichi, rather than be offended, looked amused. "Ask away. Answering a question is the least I can do for one who fought Inaba Kogorō to a stalemate for an hour." he said with a chuckle.**

 **Naruko flushed. "Ummm…it's just I was wondering how much you know about these Kinjutsu the Inaba and Yanagi use. That Kogorō-teme used two kinds, _Konki_ and _Mokki_. What's the difference?"**

Everyone perked up at this, they were quite curious as well and hopefully this would be the explanation.

 **"Ah, an interesting question." The Elder replied, "There are three tiers of the Yanagi Kinjutsu. At the bottom are the _Konki_ , or Root Demon, techniques. These are either not very powerful, flawed in some way or require a permanent sacrifice of roots in order to use, which is discouraged. From what you have said regarding the _Kyokon Bunshin_ he used against you yesterday, it was definitely classed as a _Konki_ because of the third reason."**

 **"Okay." Naruko nodded.**

 **"Next are the _Mokki_ , or Tree Demon, Techniques." Shin'ichi continued, "They are ones that have been approved for general use by the majority of the Inaba Clan, although some are restricted to the higher ranks within the Inaba. Most of the Ankonhei were forcibly transformed using the _Jarinma no Jutsu_ , but the four elite members of the Inaba Clan can use the Jutsu and revert from it back to their human forms. They can all use the _Jishin Tensō_ as well, but none can use it with the skill and strength that Kogorō can put behind it."**

 **"So I basically fought the strongest guy in the entire damn clan? Man, does my luck suck or what?" Naruko commented.**

Naruto pouted, he did have the worst of luck it seems, or at least his other did.

The boy's current teammates (Sakura and Sasuke) were wary about being on a team with Naruto now, if this was what they had to look forward to.

 **"You will not be fighting him alone again." Anko told her sternly.**

 **Naruko looked at her lover steadily.**

Naruto blushed heavily at the reminder, while the girls blushed as well... either that or they were thinking about how good Naruto was in the sack.

 **"Anko-sensei, I'm the only one who _can_. My sword is the only thing that can cut the roots and Jutsu are all but useless against him. All of my Jutsu put together just made him mad. Not hurt, not wounded, _mad_. I doubt B-Ranks will have much greater effect than C-Ranks." she said calmly.**

 **"Genjutsu will be ineffective as well due to the constant strong chakra flow there seems to be between the user and the roots." Kurenai said dejectedly, "And I don't want to risk Ino's mind by risking her using the _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ on someone directly connected to the demon tree."**

 **"Besides, we'll be fighting in his turf this time." Naruko pointed out, "You will all need a distraction in order to get to Saeko and Sae." She had been told of the assassination plan not long after she woke up that morning.**

 **Anko grumbled and looked away with a pout.**

 **"Carry on, Shin'ichi-ji-san." Naruko told the man, who had been watching the exchange with interest.**

 **"Right." The Elder said, "The third and final tier is the _Rinma_ , or Forest Demon, techniques. These are used solely by the few remaining members of the Yanagi Clan. They are powerful, chakra intensive and very difficult to use. There are certain techniques that Sae keeps to herself and there are certain others that Saeko has concealed from her, but the ones at Sae's command are mostly techniques for wide area spying within the forest and a couple that turn the forest into a living weapon against intruders, very few anti-personnel Jutsu.**

 **"She is, however, an accredited master at using a Nagamaki. She has not lost a fight whilst wielding one in the past decade."**

 **"A what now?" Naruko asked.**

 **"A Nagamaki. In layman's terms, it's a Nodachi with a handle just as long as the blade. Technique wise it can be used for sword techniques, spear techniques, even a couple of axe techniques."**

Tenten pulled out her weapon scroll and pulled out a Nagamaki to show off. Yuki made a note to introduce Tenten to Carbide Ceramics for blades.

 **"So it's a complicated weapon, both to wield and to fight against." Anko muttered.**

 **"Quite. Whereas, while she hates combat, Saeko-sama is very skilled at _Sōjutsu_ (Spear Martial Arts). Not up to her sister's level, but not to be taken lightly either." Shin'ichi added, "Each of them uses an Honor Weapon of the Clan. Sae wields Suiyō and Saeko wields _Ryūga_ (Dragon's Tooth)."**

 **"Is there anything special about the weapons? Any special abilities or seals?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"No, they are merely weapons of exceptional quality." The Elder replied.**

Naruto seemed to get the emphasis before anyone. "Naruko's going to get one of those honor blades for her gauntlet, isn't she?"

It mildly shocked the group when Yuki nodded. "Bit of a spoiler, but yes, she gains the spear."

 **"Good. Something we don't have to worry about at least." Kurenai said, "I swear, this is the most screwed up mission I've _ever_ been on. Lying clients, insane dictators, insanely powerful shinobi, demon trees…nobody will believe me if I tell them…if Hokage-sama allows me to tell anyone once this mission is over. What a headache."**

 **"Yeah, we probably won't even get paid for this." Ino said with a frown.**

 **"When the Yanagi have fallen, Konoha can take the equivalent of two S-Rank missions pay from the coffers of the Yanagi Clan." Shin'ichi replied, with an understanding look on his face. Shinobi don't work for free after all.**

That got wide eyed looks on the genin's faces; that was a lot of dosh. Especially with the cash register chime in the background.

 **"And on that note, let's go find that door." Naruko said as she stood up and stretched lightly, "Times-a-wasting!"**

 **The door, as it turned out, was concealed behind a wall of false rock on the opposite side of the cavern. Hinata spotted it as soon as she activated her Kekkei Genkai.**

 **"Hmmm…good thing that the opening sequence is the same for all of the doors." Shin'ichi muttered before beginning the handsigns and the chant, ending this time with, " _Rin'ne no Tobira: Kaifū_! (Door of Transmigration: Unseal!)"**

 **As before, the door melted away, revealing a dark tunnel ahead.**

 **The shinobi entered the tunnel silently as they would soon be coming close to enemy occupied territory. As they walked, they kept an eye out for traps that might have been set by either the Kashi Clan, to keep out the Yanagi Clan, or by the Yanagi Clan to keep the Kashi Clan out.**

 **Suddenly Naruko's gauntlet lit up and she stiffened. "Genjutsu!" she hissed. All members of the team disturbed their chakra flow and restarted it, revealing a large pit in the floor before them.**

 **Hinata activated her _Byakugan_ at Kurenai's gesture and peered at the hole before smiling. "It's a-alright. The hole isn't t-there. It's a v-variation of _Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu_ (Demonic Illusion: Double Optic Delusory Jutsu). We need to dispel the s-second layer."**

 **Once they had cleared the second layer, they began to advance more cautiously.**

 **"How could that genjutsu still be active?" Naruko asked, "The original caster must be long dead."**

Those who didn't use genjutsu were also curious here.

 **"If a genjutsu is tied to a location and is powered by chakra storage seals, then, if the genjutsu is maintained at low power as that one was, it can last quite some time, especially if the chakra storage seals are topped off every now and again." Kurenai responded quietly.**

 **"Man, I never would have thought a Clan unaffiliated with a Hidden Village like the Kashi Clan would be so skilled with seals." Anko mused.**

 **Shin'ichi snorted. "They weren't. They hired a kunoichi of another Clan to do it for them. Swore the woman to secrecy afterwards."**

 **"Surprised they didn't kill her." Anko commented.**

 **"They didn't dare. She was from a powerful Clan who could have handily defeated all four of the Morimura Clans with ease, although I was unable to discover the name of that Clan." Shin'ichi replied.**

 **"It was probably the Uzumaki Clan." Naruko said, "I saw some spiral patterns on the wall. Uzumaki Seals always resemble spirals once they are complete."**

Naruto perked up at that detail, filing it away for later.

 **"Wow. Pretty distinctive mark." Ino commented.**

 **"That was the entire point." Naruko replied, "It was so when enemies saw the spiral, they would automatically proceed much, much slower because of my Clan's reputation with seals. We could, and did, come up with some innovative trap seals that made the Uzumaki feared throughout the nations. Not to mention the other aspects of Fūinjutsu that my clan explored."**

 **"Yeah, but isn't that also why they were wiped out?" Anko pointed out.**

 **Naruko nodded. "Yeah, people feared us because they couldn't understand Fūinjutsu that well. Combined with our skill at battle, it obviously spooked Kiri, Kumo and Iwa enough to launch a surprise attack on us as the first blow of the Third Great Ninja War. That's why I'm the last of my Clan."**

Naruto was saddened upon hearing that. Yuki however kept silent about Honoka Uzumaki's spirit, Karin Uzumaki, and his thoughts about Tayuya's heritage.

 **Silence reigned in the tunnel after Naruko's words hit them like a punch to the gut. She was alone, no family, no Clan, and they had just bypassed -and most likely destroyed- one of the few remaining examples of their work left in the world.**

 **"Naruko-chan…" Hinata said hesitantly.**

 **"It's OK, Hinata-chan." Naruko interrupted her before she could say anything more, "My Clan were all killed before I was born. I never knew them. I wish that I did, but I don't. It's hard to miss something that you never knew, y'know?"**

The girls group-hugged Naruto in an effort to comfort him as he solemnly cried about his lost family. Sasuke merely gave a nod of camaraderie towards his fellow orphan.

 **Ino wiped a small tear away from her eye as she heard this. Naruko was resigned to being alone and without a Clan. Combine that with what she put up with from the villagers on a daily basis and it was a wonder she was sane at all.**

 **Further conversation was halted by Naruko hissing, "The door's just ahead!"**

 **Shin'ichi proceeded to open it with his muttered chanting and unusual handsigns, ending with a spoken, " _Tao no Tobira: Kaifū_! (Door of The Way: Unseal!)"**

 **The door melted away like all the others, only this time, all the shinobi were tensed and prepared to attack in case of an ambush. Fortunately, there were no enemy ninja on the other side of the door, just row upon row of dusty wine bottles, neatly stacked according to age.**

 **"There has to be millions of ryo worth of wine here…just in this one aisle." Anko whispered. She was an expert at wines and alcoholic beverages in general.**

Anko was probably drooling over in her section... yup. And Kurenai was elbowing her in an attempt to get her sadistic friend to act more professionally.

Not that she needed to.

 **"Steal it. The Yanagi aren't going to be drinking it anytime soon." Naruko whispered back and chucked ten storage scrolls over to her sensei, who caught them, grinned back at her and began to do just that.**

 **"Anko! Naruko!" Kurenai whispered in a scandalized tone.**

 **"Sensei, this counts as part of operations against the enemy by robbing them of a potential source of income." Naruko replied, "By the strictures of the Konoha Shinobi Field Operation Manual, Anko-chan-sensei is committing no crime."**

Naruto and Kiba both memorized that fact for... various reasons.

 **Kurenai was surprised at Naruko's knowledge of the FOM, but reminded herself that Naruko did use her shadow clones to do the studying for her, so the FOM was almost inevitably going to be a part of that study course.**

Naruto then added using his clones to mass study up on this kind of thing. He didn't like being treated as if he wasn't intelligent.

 **Kurenai was a _very_ moral person. She didn't approve of lecherous behavior by males, stealing by her comrades or anything that made kunoichi seem weaker or lesser in her opinion. She had quietly, but firmly, made her opinion known to everyone she was teamed up with since making chunin and, strangely enough, those things did not happen on any missions she was on.**

"Word of warning." Yuki spoke up "She's also prone to mothering her students, so make sure that she actually pushes you when training." He said while looking at Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, who all frowned slightly.

 **Therefore, she was torn by what Naruko and Anko were doing. On one hand, her knee-jerk reaction was to hit them with a genjutsu and lecture them for immoral acts. On the _other_ hand, Naruko was merely following the Konoha Shinobi FOM on dealing with a powerful and entrenched enemy that had limited influence outside of its own area.**

 **"We will talk about this after the mission, Naruko." Kurenai told her student, reluctantly delaying the matter for a later, less danger fraught, time.**

 **Naruko's only response was a shrug. She created a dozen Shadow Clones to store the bottles in the scrolls, which seemed to hold far more than any other storage scrolls Kurenai had seen before.**

 **"Uzushiogakure-pattern Plunder Storage Scrolls." Naruko had replied when questioned, "I carry about twenty with me, in case we have to do a house moving mission, although this is more what their original purpose was."**

 **Once the cellar had been thoroughly plundered, Naruko began unsealing and handing out small boxes to her clones.**

 **"Special party favours." she said mysteriously when Anko asked her what was in them.**

Naruto had a wide devious smirk on his face when he heard that. He knew _exactly_ what was inside that box.

 **Kurenai stared at the girl, her crimson eyes narrowing dangerously. "Genin Uzumaki, just what are you planning to do?" she asked calmly.**

 **"Why, I'm going to blow the castle up, Kurenai-sensei." Naruko replied, as if the answer was obvious, "Not all at once, but enough to cause chaos, confusion and not a little discord. My biggest prank yet!"**

 **"I do not recall approving that plan, Genin Uzumaki." Kurenai said frostily.**

 **"Can anyone _else_ here hide from twenty chunin, ten jonin and two teams of ANBU for five hours? No? Then I'm the best one to run a distraction mission, both for my stealth skills and because I can use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ to a degree that even Tobirama-Ōoji (Great Uncle) couldn't."**

Naruto had a smile of pride spread across his face and grow bigger with each point listed out by his other. At the end, he was positively beaming.

 **"Hate to admit this, but Naru-chan has a point." Anko put in, making Kurenai give her friend a sour look, "Hey, don't you be giving me that look Nai-chan! I'm just pointing out that Naru-chan's right."**

 ** _'Why is it that I constantly have to give in to the will of others since I took this team?'_ The crimson-eyed Jonin thought tiredly.**

 **"I…am reluctant to agree here." Kurenai said at last, "But you have a point Naruko. I will permit you to go on the distraction portion of the mission, under two conditions. First, you use your Shadow Clones as much as possible. Second, you do not engage in combat when at all possible. Set the tags, retreat to a safe distance, set them off then get out of the area. No showboating, no grandstanding, none of your usual -pre and -post prank behavior. Understood?"**

 **"Hai, sensei. Wait until the explosions start before you move. I'll set some up far away from here, at the gates and wall first." Naruko responded with a nod. She looked at her clones, who all nodded.**

 **"Well then ladies, I think we should show the Yanagi Clan why you always finish off an opponent while they're down!" Naruko said with a grin.**

 **"Right boss!" The clones whispered and they, plus Naruko, vanished in clouds of smoke to be replaced by several spiders, mice and rats.**

 **Kurenai stared. What was this girl thinking?**

 **"Naruko, the _Henge no Jutsu_ is just an illusion. It doesn't actually change your shape." she said in a lecturing manner.**

 **The Naruko-mice and Naruko-rats turned around, flipped their tails at her and sped off into a crack in the plaster wall, leaving all of the remaining shinobi gaping at the wall.**

 **"I think that needs to be added to the list of things we need to talk to her about, Nai-chan." Anko said faintly.**

 **Kurenai nodded faintly.**

The other genin looked at Naruto in disbelief. A look that was shared by the other groups.

Naruto was equally confused. He didn't think there was anything special about it before this...

* * *

 **1 Hour Later**

 **Mokkijō, Main Gate, Gate Watch**

 **The three soldiers on guard at in the second story of the Main Gate of the Yanagi's stronghold were not ninja, nor were they samurai. They were peasant conscripts, Ashigaru, equipped with light armour on the chest, arms, legs and head, as well as spears and bows. They had a pair of braziers on each side of the platform, both for illumination and to light a Hiya (fire arrow) to signal an attack.**

 **Against mere villagers, fellow Ashigaru and even regular Samurai from the Fire Daimyo, these precautions were adequate, if only barely.**

 **They were, however, _completely_ insufficient against infiltration by a shinobi, especially one with the skill of one Uzumaki Naruko and her endless army of one. Evidently, security had been downgraded after the destruction of the other rival clans and then Morimura Village.**

Shikamaru, with how smart he was, and Naruto, with how devious he was, were both thinking rapidly on how to best exploit such weaknesses.

 **The first explosive tag blew up the entire gatehouse, instantly killing the three soldiers and sending the flaming debris to the ground, blocking the gate from both sides.**

 **The next targets to explode were the four Yagura (Turrets) at the corners of the curtain walls, killing any soldiers stationed within. The explosions caused the towers to collapse in on themselves, ruthlessly denying the occupants any hope of fleeing the burning and broken fortification.**

 **Confusion was abound as the roaming Ashigaru guards attempted to run to their comrades' aid, only to be blow up by tags that were placed along the exact path that they took to the nearest blazing Yagura.**

Shikamaru smirked lightly "I commend your other Naruto, that is some precise planning. If you're as capable as your other, it makes me wonder how you'd do in a game of Shogi."

Naruto was torn between accepting the game and confusion at what Shogi was... Don't get him wrong, he'd heard of it, but he'd never played it before.

 **In her private set of rooms, Yanagi Sae jerked to wakefulness at the sound of the first explosion. She leapt up from her bed, stark naked, and hurriedly put on a robe and gathered her hair into a loose ponytail before sweeping out to her main chambers.**

While there was some blushing at the fact she was naked, there wasn't much to her for the viewers to really care much.

As well as, y'know, evil being a big turn-off.

 **"Kogorō! Report!" she shrieked.**

 **Kogorō faded into view in the doorway. "Sae-sama, we are under attack!" he reported, "The gatehouse and the Yagura are destroyed and the entire courtyard has been bob trapped by explosive tags!"**

 **"It must be the Konoha scum!" Sae hissed, "Kogorō! Mobilise the _Inaba Shugojin Yonin_! (The Inaba Four Guardian Deities)"**

That wasn't good.

 **"Unfortunately, I am the only one left, Sae-sama." Kogorō replied, "Each of the others were in one of the Yagura when they exploded, as per your instructions."**

Naruto fist-pumped with a free arm and a quiet cheer of "Yes!" when he heard that. He was thankful his other didn't have to deal with more like Kogorō.

 **"Useless fools!" Sae raged, "Fine! _You_ go and find out what in Kami's name is going on! I'll be in the Communion Chamber."**

Everyone deadpanned at how moronic they were finding Sae. If they were useless following her orders, then she just insulted herself.

 **"Hai, Sae-sama!" Kogorō faded to nothing as he departed.**

 **Sae, in a rage fit to be tied, hurriedly dressed in her battle outfit. A green hakama, tied at the ankles, and a white kimono with the symbol of the Yanagi Clan over her heart and on the back.**

 **Then she added the _Kote_ (arm armour), _Haidate_ (thigh armour), _Suneate_ (waist armour), _Sode_ (shoulder armour) and a steel _Dō_ (Cuirass) emblazoned with the Yanagi Clan Symbol in the centre.**

 **Before she left her room, she grabbed her Nagamaki, _Suiyō_ , from its stand. If the Konoha scum dared to invade her castle and attack her divine personage, she would cut them to pieces like the weeds that they were.**

Kiba snorted "There is absolutely nothing divine about that bitch." That got agreement noises from the others.

* * *

 **With Kogorō**

 **Inaba Kogorō sped down the corridor leading to the main entrance of the castle, his mind racing, trying to figure out who was responsible for the attack.**

 ** _'The exploding tags were set up to cause the maximum amount of damage,'_ Kogorō considered, _'The gatehouse collapsed on both sides of the gate, meaning the non-shinobi will have a hard time leaving before the gate burns down. The Yagura were taken out to reduce the over-watch capabilities of the Ashigaru guards and the grounds mined to make it vastly more difficult to move help to the Yagura in time to help anybody.'_**

 **Clearly, the person or, vastly more likely, persons responsible for this chaos were highly accomplished at stealth and at traps to have accomplished all this, even with the reduced security at the castle's curtain wall.**

 **Kogorō was shaken from his thoughts by an immense explosion that seemed to shake the entire castle. He halted as more explosions rocked the very hallway he was in. They seemed to be getting closer to his position.**

 **[BOOM!]**

The genin jumped at the explosion sounded. No matter how many times it happened, there was no way to prepare for something like that sounding off so randomly.

So caught up in recovering, they didn't notice Yuki's smirk as he watched them, finding the whole thing amusing.

 **The corridor he was in exploded not a hundred paces behind him, blocking the way back. Kogorō swore colorfully. Now he was cut off from the only entrance to the basement and thus Sae-sama and Saeko-sama!**

Shikamaru nodded with a smirk on his face. Cutting the enemy off from each other, causing panic and confusion among the lower ranking subordinates, severing the lines of command…if Naruto was anything like as strategic minded as Naruko was, Shikamaru had grossly underestimated him all these years.

 **Another explosion, this time about fifty paces behind him, galvanized him into motion. He ran pell-mell down the corridor as the explosions grew closer. The Chief Retainer of the Yanagi Clan barely made it into the main entry hall before the final explosion caved in the entrance to the main area of the ground floor, which also sent him sprawling onto the floor by the force of the blast, not to mention the numerous flying pieces of burning wood that struck him.**

 **Kogorō turned the air blue as he regained his footing, cursing all the while. The three other explosions closing off the other entrances to the left and right wings of the castle, not to mention the main gate, made him curse even more. Now he was trapped in the damned entrance hall! He'd have to smash a wall in order to get out of here!**

 **"Man, are you a mess or what, Kogorō-teme?" a voice asked contempt fully from above him. He froze. He knew that voice! Slowly, he turned around and looked up in disbelief to view the person who had spoken.**

 **Uzumaki Naruko perched on the wall, looking down at him in amusement. She was, Kogorō noted incredulously, absolutely unchanged from her appearance the previous day. No wounds covered her body, no cuts on her clothing, not even a bruise marred her face.**

 **"You…!" he snarled, " _You_ did all this?!"**

 **"What was your first clue, teme?" Naruko sneered at him before jumping off of the wall, twisting in mid-air so that when she landed to Kogorō's rear, she was still facing him.**

 **"How did you get past the guards, Hidden Village scum!" Kogorō snarled as he whirled to face her again.**

This earned him a deadpan from all the groups. Ninja. What part of that word was so hard to grasp for him?

 **"You call those _guys_ 'guards'?" Naruko asked with a raised eyebrow, "They were easy to sneak past. I barely had to try. You really should have invested in better security for your only castle."**

 **"As impudent as ever I see." The Retainer growled, "I see that I'll have to beat some sense into you yet again, whelp!"**

 **"Uh…what continent are you on?" Naruko asked, "I withstood your best attack in that…monster form of yours and was able to walk away from it. Not only that, I'm not fighting devoid of information this time. I have a pretty good idea about what your basic capabilities are, _and_ that you can't use most of them here."**

 **Kogorō scowled. The brat had somehow guessed that only Yanagi Clan members could use Yanagi Kinjutsu within the confines of Mokkijō without expressed permission, which was why she had trapped him inside the castle.**

The group deadpanned again. Seriously?

 **"How did you figure that out, whelp?" Kogorō demanded.**

 **"You told me just now." Naruko told him smugly,**

Naruto grinned, that was one of his favourite tricks for information gathering/pissing people off.

 **"Plus, your mistress is an insane paranoid bitch. She wouldn't let the Inaba Clan be too powerful in her own stronghold. Let's see how strong you are _without_ your precious Kinjutsu to back you up!"**

"Very logical." Shino remarked.

 **"I am a better ninja than you could _ever_ hope to become!" Kogorō shouted as he made a twisting gesture with his right hand, causing a kunai to drop into it from up his sleeve.**

 **"A hidden kunai mechanism. Smart." Naruko commented as she drew her own kunai, "You'll need more than that to beat me though!"**

 **The two shinobi moved at the same instant and clashed in the centre of the room, their kunai thrusting and blocking each other repeatedly. The glares the sent at each other broadcast the same message: only one of them would walk away from the fight this time, while the other would die by the victor's hand.**

 **Around them the fire caught on the walls and began to grow, ignored by the combatants as their battle began to blaze with its own intensity.**

 **Meanwhile, in the basement, Yanagi Saeko looked up with a faint smile.**

 **"It's time." she muttered as she picked up her spear, "At last, it is time to _end_ the madness!"**

* * *

Yuki closed the book "And that ends that chapter." The groups were getting pumped for the upcoming fight "Next Chapter: Rematch! Kogorō Vs Naruko!"


	16. Ch 15: Rematch! Kogoro Vs Naruko!

_**Sorry for the delay, I had to recover from a compressed nerve that resulted in partial paralysis of my left arm as well as almost total atrophy of one of my muscles. Once again, I do not own the story being read by the cast, nor do I own the cast outside of my own OCs. I also have permission from the author for this story and he acts as my beta reader.**_

* * *

Yuki was thankful he was an all-powerful multiverse god at this point. He was sure he'd have an overly sore throat from all of the reading otherwise. " **Chapter 15: Rematch! Kogorō Vs Naruko!** "

That definitely got everyone's attention.

 **Entrance Hall, Mokkijō**

 **Inaba Kogorō had served the Yanagi Clan for over thirty years, ever since he turned ten. During that time, he had fought in battles, assassinated many people and had even seen his Lady Sae control the demon tree to take over the Yanagi Clan.**

There were several scoffs on who was controlling who in that statement.

None of that had prepared him for facing Uzumaki Naruko without the Mashinju to back him up.

 **She was fast, strong and precise in her attacks and her Taijutsu Style was one that he didn't recognize. It was very effective at counter attacks and the offensive attacks were brutally efficient. His own _Yuzuru_ (Willow Crane) style focused on maintaining a solid stance with his legs and making quick, precise jabs with his arms, but this merely made his attacks predictable, as she didn't have to worry about his lower limbs.**

That got frowns from the Taijutsu users, as using such a style would be fine against civilians, but any true fighter or ninja would be able to beat the user with startling ease. The fact that he was still alive after all this time spoke more of the strength of his tree-based jutsu than it did of his actual fighting prowess.

 ** _'Time to show this whelp that my strength is not solely dependent on the Yanagi Kinjutsu.'_ Kogorō thought as he leapt back from a sweeping kick.**

 **He ran through handsigns as he landed and called out, " _Suiton: Ja no Kuchi no Jutsu_! (Water Style: Mouth of the Serpent Jutsu!)", unleashing a large torrent of water that shaped itself into a snake with its mouth open and shot towards Naruko with a roar.**

 **Naruko leapt out of the way of the jutsu, but it just followed her unerringly. The blond kunoichi grinned and ran towards Kogorō, who widened his eyes in shock as his own jutsu began to bear down on him.**

That got some smirks from the listeners, it was a good tactic against jutsu like that, and rather amusing when watching it happen from an outsider's perspective.

 **Swiftly, he cancelled the powerful jutsu, causing the water to collapse onto the ground. Naruko merely grinned at him.**

 **"Ninjutsu Lesson One: Never use a long range jutsu in close confines as it can easily be turned back against you." she told him.**

Lee was busy writing the lesson down, despite the fact it should've been common sense. Which just goes to say how little Kogorō actually thought for himself. In his secret bunker, Danzō twitched as he felt like someone was making fun of him and/or his Root ANBU for something... He'd been feeling that a lot lately.

 **"Shut. UP!" Kogorō roared as he made more handsigns, " _Suiton: Mizubōsō no Jutsu_! (Water Style: Rampaging Water Jutsu!)"**

 **This time, he fired an enormous blast of water from his mouth at Naruko, one that should be too large for his mouth to fire, as it was at least a foot wide.**

"Dr. Octogonapus! BLAAAGH!" The genin jumped at the sudden shout, which was ignored as Yuki continued reading.

 **The Uzumaki Heiress didn't so much as bat an eye as she ran forwards and to the left of him.**

 **Kogorō tried to move the jutsu around so that it hit her, but found that she moved far faster than he could turn his head. With a wordless snarl, Naruko slammed a strong punch to Kogorō's family jewels.**

 **[CRUNCH!]**

The males had winced and either crossed their legs protectively or cupped themselves in imagined pain at that scene. Naruto in the other hand was laughing his ass off at Kogorō's expression.

 **White-hot pain erupted from the one place no man wants to be struck in and Kogorō ended the jutsu as he staggered back to cup his abused jewels with one hand, gasping in pain and humiliation.**

 **"** _Taijutsu_ **Lesson One: Never let your guard down!" Naruko snarled as she kicked Kogorō in the center of his chest, sending him staggering back a couple of feet.**

 **"Y-You damn brat…!" Kogorō rasped in anger, "How dare you insult me like this!"**

"Easily ya moron!" Naruto howled out in the midst of his laughter.

 **"With the greatest of ease!" Naruko quipped.**

 **"Grrrr!" Kogorō was furious that the whelp had struck him in such a vital area. Angrily, he unsealed an Fūma Shuriken from a storage seal on his kimono and hurled it horizontally at Naruko before making several handsigns.**

 **" _Ninpō: Shuriken Goshin no Jutsu_! (Ninja Art: Shuriken Giant Body Jutsu!)" He roared as he leapt to the wall**

 **The Fūma Shuriken then grew to massive proportions, almost filling the room as it hurtled towards Naruko. Making a split second decision, Naruko leapt into the air and clapped her hands.**

 **" _Fūton: Reppūshō no Jutsu_!" she shouted as the wind jutsu sent her flying towards the wall, where she landed and stuck to it with her chakra.**

A short bit of music began to play, one that the groups didn't recognize. The Crewgers merely smirked as the Indiana Jones theme played for the scene.

 **She watched at the massive shuriken slammed into the wall and cut through it as if it was made of cheese before returning to a normal size.**

 **"You know, your mistress isn't going to be happy with you for wrecking her castle. You do realize that, right?" Naruko told the scowling man.**

 **"Die! Shut up and DIE already!" Kogorō shouted, throwing a handful of shuriken at her. Naruko dodged to the side and formed the Tiger Handsign.**

 **" _Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu_!" she mouthed before unleashing a flurry of water bullets at her enemy. Kogorō gaped for a moment at the sheer number of bullets before scrambling away hurriedly. No less than _twelve_ water bullets slammed into the wooden wall, creating fist-sized holes where they struck the wood.**

 **Naruko grinned. She had unconsciously been holding back last time because she had still been operating in 'Training Mode', where you don't seriously injure your partner. This time she was using her jutsu at full power.**

 **Kogorō was shocked. She hadn't displayed this kind of power the previous day!**

The thoughts of _'no duh!'_ were clearly visible on the deadpan genin's faces. Yuki merely answered with a _'yes he is that dumb'_ look.

 **"Tell me Kogorō-teme." Naruko said mockingly, "How does it feel to be up against a foe that surpasses your expectations and is able to accomplish things you thought impossible?"**

 **"SHUT UP!" Kogorō howled. He revealed he had another kunai hidden up his sleeve and launched himself at Naruko at impressive speed for a forty year old ninja.**

Said ninjas of similar age range (read: the sensei group) scoffed at that, maybe if said ninja had a leg injury that didn't heal right, maybe...

 **"Slow." Naruko commented as she dodged the slashing kunai. She then lashed out with a chakra-enhanced kick, sending him flying across the room and through the part of the wall that was weakened by her Teppōdama -exactly where she had been aiming for.**

 **"Now, let's face the _real_ you, teme." Naruko muttered as she leapt through the wall and out into the grounds.**

The girls looked ready to berate Naruto for his other's actions, and that he shouldn't put himself in unnecessary danger like his other's doing.

"Hey, say that to the other me!" Naruto protested.

 **Kogorō staggered to his feet and glared at Naruko as she landed softly on the packed dirt of the courtyard.**

 **"BIG mistake, whelp. Now that we're outside, I can use my Yanagi Kinjutsu!" Kogorō sneered triumphantly.**

 **"You really are a fool, Inaba Kogorō." Naruko told him, "You've used the Kinjutsu to such an extent that your regular taijutsu and ninjutsu are both at such a low level that a rookie genin like me can handle them. The Kinjutsu are a crutch for you and rob you of the will to truly strive to become stronger."**

The full ninja nodded in agreement with that assessment.

 **"I do not need strength other than what Sae-sama bestows upon me!" Kogorō retorted fanatically, life flickering for the first time in his dead eyes, "I failed her once by letting you get away from me and twice for not confiscating your sword. I will not make the same mistakes twice!"**

Kiba looked confused "Wouldn't that be thrice?"

That got everyone in the genin group to stop, look at him, then start to think it over. It was too confusing.

 **"Just hurry up and get your oversized root armour on." Naruko spat contempt fully, "I'll tear down your delusions and show you your weakness for what it truly is."**

 **"Very well, whelp." Kogorō sneered, "You will regret this. _Yanagi Kinjutsu Ōgi: Mokki: Jarinma no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu, Ultimate Technique: Tree Demon: Evil Forest Demon Jutsu!)"**

 **As before, roots shot out of the ground to cocoon the man before pulling him down beneath the ground. Naruko smirked and made the mental connection to her tenant.**

 ** _'Kyūbi. I'm about to face the hack in his full form. Are you ready on your end?'_ she asked.**

 ** _'Of course I am.'_ The Kyūbi replied, _'Just let me warn you, my chakra is not easy to control and too much of it at once is potentially toxic, so when I say that I won't give you any more, that's why.'_**

 ** _'Got it. I'll try to only use the bare minimum during this fight.'_ Naruko replied, _'In addition, can you stop messing with my chakra control during this fight? I seriously need every advantage I can get against this guy.'_**

 ** _'Pah!'_ scoffed the Kyūbi, _'No you don't. Just my Chakra will be more than enough to deal with this knock off. But I will allow it as I can guess what you plan on doing.'_**

 ** _'Arigatou, Kyūbi-san.'_ Naruko thought as she slammed her hands together into the Monkey handsign.**

Inside Naruto's seal, Kurama was starting to get a tad bit unnerved. He was so sure that this whole being nice this was a lie. It had to be!

 **" _En'ō Kago-te: Buki Henge: Kongōgatana_!" she chanted, her Adamantine Katana once more appearing in her hand. This time, it would taste blood.**

 **The towering form of Kogorō's _Jarinma_ form rose up from the ground, every bit as intimidating as it had been the previous day.**

 **"Now then, whelp. Where were we?" Kogorō boomed.**

 **Naruko merely assumed the _Waki-gamae_ position, her sword concealed at a low angle behind her and her body twisted to one side slightly, tensed and ready to react to her opponent's next move.**

Yuki put up a picture of the stance before making a comment, " _Waki-gamae_ is one of the five stances of Kendo, a rather traditional sword style. The stances are _Ch_ _ū_ _dan_ , _Gedan_ , _Hassō_ , _Jodan_ and _Waki_. _Waki-gamae_ is also a position that favors either _Migikiriage_ or _Hidarikiriage_ depending on which hand you use."

Tenten raised her hand. "I've never heard those terms, what's _Migikiriage_ and _Hidarikiriage_?"

Yuki gave her a small smile; leave it to Tenten to be curious about weapons. "They are Kendo's nine vital cuts. Cuts that strike at the vitals of your enemies. Going counter-clockwise we have _Karatake_ (Tang Bamboo), which is a vertical cut aimed at the head; _Sakagesagiri_ (Inverted Kasaya Cutter), which is a diagonal cut from right shoulder to left waist; _Miginagi_ (Right Mower), a horizontal cut aimed at the right side; _Migikiriage_ (Right Cutting Life), a rising diagonal cut from right waist to left shoulder; _Sakakaze_ (Inverted Wind), a rising vertical cut aimed at the groin; _Hidarikiriage_ (Left Cutting Lift), a rising diagonal cut from left waist to right shoulder; _Hidarinagi_ (Left Mower), a horizontal cut aimed at the left side; _Kesagiri_ (Kasaya Cutter), a diagonal cut from left shoulder to right waist, and finally _Shitotsu_ (Thorn Thrust), a forward blade thrust aimed at either the centre of the chest or at the breastbone."

Tenten was furiously writing all this down.

 **"What's this? So scared that you can't speak?" the Retainer sneered at her.**

 **"I think we went over this yesterday. Are you going to try and talk me to death or are you gonna _fight_?" Naruko sniped back.**

 **"Impudent Brat!" Kogorō howled in outrage as he charged forwards. Before he realised it though, Naruko was under his guard and had her sword drawn back.**

 **"Let's try this _again_ , shall we?" Naruko hissed, " _Uzumaki-Ryū Kenjutsu: Kai: Shin Kaen Ittōryōdan_! (Uzumaki Style Sword Technique: Revised: True Blazing Single Stroke Bisection!)"**

 **Immediately, her sword blazed with the same firestorm as the previous day except…differently. Whereas the first attempt had been long, this flaming sword was only a foot or so longer than the actual blade and seemed hotter as, rather than red or orange; the blade was almost pure white.**

 **Kogorō, realizing his danger, dodged to the side, but was too slow. The flaming sword cut through the roots that made up his _Jarinma_ 's right arm, cauterizing them and starting a small fire on his body.**

A few of the boys were cheering at the obviously awesome jutsu of destruction. Sasuke merely had a smirk as his inner pyro was cheering along with the others.

"That's because the Kyūbi's no longer interfering with her chakra control." Yuki said with a smirk. "It's honestly surprising what various iterations of Naruto can do once the Kyūbi stops being a hindrance to him."

 **Naruko leapt back after the Jutsu ended and assumed the _Chūdan-gamae_ , the standard stance that offered no preference to defense or attack.**

Yuki put up a picture of the stance again.

 **"What do you know, you were right." Naruko said with a smirk, "That Jutsu really _can_ cut your root armor. Thanks for the tip, teme!"**

 **"Y-You…" Kogorō hissed in fury. The flames on his construct's shoulder finally went out and revealed that the space where the arm had once been was melted over, as if it had been dipped in molten lava.**

 **Kogorō glanced at it and mentally cursed. There _was_ a jutsu to regenerate a lost limb on a Jarinma, but Saeko-sama had theorized that if all of the cut roots were thoroughly cauterized by extreme heat or _very_ extreme cold, the jutsu would merely regenerate an arm in shape only, with no great strength behind it and it would be as fragile as a Ne Bunshin.**

 **Damn it, he had to _try_ it at the very least.**

 **" _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Konki: Konshi Saisei no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Root Demon: Root Limb Regeneration Jutsu!)" he growled.**

 **Roots flowed out and over his the location where his arm had formerly been. They bunched together and obscured it for a moment before falling back, leaving the shoulder joint utterly unchanged. The roots then swarmed over it again, this time reaching down to the length of the original arm, forming into the exact shape of the limb that was on fire at his feet before settling.**

 **"Awww. Is your crutch _broken_ , teme?" Naruko teased him, "Do you want me to pause so you can mourn it?"**

 **"BITCH!" Kogorō bellowed and charged her again.**

 **Naruko sighed. This guy was the proverbial bull in the china shop!**

"Like you're one to talk." Sasuke snorted.

" _Shut it_ , teme."

* * *

 **With The Rest of Team 8...**

 **When the first explosion went off, Kurenai silently led her team, plus Shin'ichi, up the stairs of the wine cellar under a basic notice-me-not genjutsu.**

The Harry Potter theme played for a bit.

 **She and Hinata had point, Shin'ichi in the centre and Anko and Ino bringing up the rear.**

 **The first suspicious conversation that they heard was a mere ten paces down the hall. Two female servants were having a panicked conversation at the door to the kitchens.**

 **"The gatehouse was destroyed!" one said to the other, "The Yagura have been destroyed! The courtyard has been mined! I saw it from the kitchen window! What are we going to do?!"**

 **"I saw Kogorō-sama heading towards the courtyard from Sae-sama's quarters." The other servant replied, "Whoever is responsible won't be able to stand up to him!"**

Que laughter from the adults.

 **No sooner had the servant spoken, a loud series of explosions rocked the castle, making the two servants shriek in panic and flee into the presumptive safety of the kitchen, slamming the door behind them and slamming the deadbolts home.**

 **"No…surely she wouldn't be so reckless, not after what happened _last_ time." Kurenai muttered, a foreboding feeling washing over her.**

"Who's Shirley?" Yuki muttered under his breath.

 **"W-what do you mean, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.**

 **"Naruko. I think she might have just trapped herself in a room with Inaba Kogorō." Kurenai replied tensely.**

 **"And?" Shin'ichi asked with a frown, "She is keeping the only opponent we cannot fight out of our way. Sae and Saeko cannot use the _Jarinma no Jutsu_. Sae can't use it because she is the one who maintains the link between the Mashinju and the rest of the Inaba and Yanagi, whilst Saeko cannot use it because Sae has blocked her from the demon tree except for experimentation purposes, so she can create new jutsu."**

 **"He almost killed her though!" Ino fretted.**

 **"Sae created a small kekkai around the main section of the castle that prevents any of the Inaba Clan from using Yanagi kinjutsu within it." Shin'ichi said.**

 **Anko gaped. "You mean to tell me that she's preventing her _primary guard unit_ from using their most powerful jutsu _in the main place they're supposed to be protecting_?! Is she mad?"**

 **"Yes." The Elder replied straight-faced, "As well as severely paranoid. She fears her sister, she fears the Inaba and she _especially_ fears Inaba Kogorō and the _Inaba Shugojin Yonin_ , the four others in the Inaba Clan who can revert from the _Jarinma no Jutsu_. She even made each of the four sleep in a separate Yagura 'as a precaution'; meaning Naruko-sama has just eliminated, in a single stroke, _four-fifths_ of the most powerful members of the Inaba Clan."**

Yuki muttered to himself as he turned the page, "Another note on Sae's stupidity..."

 **Anko whistled. "Damn. Remind me to stay on Naru-chan's good side."**

 **"Let's get a move on." Kurenai said with a frown, "The last thing we need is to be caught here by-"**

 **"Halt!" A pair of men wearing the black outfits of the Inaba Clan had walked around the corner, sensed the genjutsu and had dispelled it.**

 **"-the enemy." Kurenai finished with a resigned sigh.**

* * *

 **With Naruko…**

 **"WILL YOU STAY STILL?!" Kogorō bellowed angrily. He was become increasingly exasperated with his opponent. She was not even attacking him, not since she cut his arm off. She was instead jumping around like a flea, rarely remaining in one place any longer than it took her to insult him before moving on.**

 **He was close to losing control of his temper, which seemed to be on tenterhooks around this incredibly disrespectful, irritating and infuriating excuse for a kunoichi that he faced.**

"That's actually something that all versions of Naruto are fairly good at; along with making his enemies underestimate him due to his hot-headed nature and small stature." Yuki informed them, thinking of several villains that pop up in the timeline. He ignored Naruto's protests that he wasn't that small.

 **"Hmmmmm….no!" Naruko replied as she easily dodged the swipe of his left arm and landed on his right arm with that aggravating smirk plastered across her face.**

 **"Grrrrrrr…! Get OFF!" Kogorō growled as he smashed his other arm down at where the girl stood, only for her to dodge yet again and made him smash his faux-facsimile of a right arm, making him howl in rage.**

 **Naruko leapt back to several yards away, pointed at him with her sword and smirked again.**

 **"What's the matter, Teme?" the Uzumaki Heiress taunted him, "Still bitter about having your _crutch_ broken? Tell you what, I'll stay right here. No dodging, no swerving. Come at me -if you _dare_!"**

 **Seeing red at the condescension the whelp was giving him, Kogorō ignored the small voice at the back of his mind that was screaming at him to assail her with long ranged jutsu, and charged her with a roar.**

 **As he closed to within three meters of his target, he was caught in the middle of _twelve_ explosions, which he recognized as coming from explosive tags. He was buffeted from twelve sides by both the concussive force of the blasts and the burning flames the tags created, causing his right leg to become severed at the knee.**

"He…actually fell for that cheap provocation?" Neji shook his head in disbelief.

"Naruko's actions have thrown his thinking completely out of whack and he's still convinced that whatever she can do, he can deal with it." Yuki shrugged. "Arrogance precedes many a fall. His is just accompanied by gross stupidity. So as a Zealot Moron, yes he did." Yuki finished with a deadpan tone.

 **As he fell to the ground with a grunt, Naruko hefted her blade onto her shoulder.**

 **"Like it? It's my own variation of the _Kekkai Ninjutsu: Kekkai Hōjin no Jutsu_ (Barrier Ninjutsu: Perimeter Barrier Jutsu) that Iruka-sensei taught me that I call the _Juni-Ten Kekkai Hōjin_ (Twelve Points Perimeter Barrier)." Naruko said with that smirk on her face, "Rather than just your basic four explosive tags in a rectangle, I positioned twelve of them as a twelve pointed star for maximum effect. Nice, eh?"**

Yuki facepalmed "I'm leaving a note to all of your sensei to train the urge to exposition out of each and every one of you."

 **"Y-You…I am going to murder you is such a painful way that you will regret ever crossing me!" Kogorō growled, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Konki: Konshi Saisei no Jutsu_!"**

 **The roots that made up the remaining part of his severed right leg surged out and reformed into a replacement leg, a proper regeneration this time, and he also regenerated another hollow right arm -not that it would be of any use.**

 **"Oh, come _on_!" Naruko rolled her eyes in exasperation, "We've been through this. You rush at me, I cut you to ribbons, and you swear to kill me, rinse and repeat. Do you have anything _original_ to add to the dance, _sir_?"**

 **The last part was added with a mocking lilt that drove Kogorō mad with anger. That voice that spoke as if she were above him, that look in her eyes as she spoke that implied that he could do nothing to harm her. He was a veteran ninja! His hands were stained red with the blood of those he had killed in the name of the Yanagi and this _stupid_ little girl presume that she was above him?**

"That's because she is." Yuki deadpanned, the genin also deadpanned at how full of himself this guy was.

 **How. _Dare_. She?**

Naruto was the one to crack a joke next. "Yes, _how dare she_... do you want a tissue teme?" Before glowering at the moron in the book.

 **" _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Konrō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Tree Demon: Root Prison Jutsu!)" Kogorō roared.**

 **The roots arched out of the ground all around Mokkijō, swiftly enclosing the castle in the familiar gloomy twilight of the jutsu. This time, however, the dome was illuminated by the burning Yagura and the flames of the main gate as it began to catch fire.**

 **Naruko merely raised an eyebrow. "This again? All this does is trap me in here and, unlike last time, I have no intentions of running away."**

 **"Heh…do you really think Saeko-sama would really create a jutsu such as this and not then create some jutsu that use it as a base?" Kogorō asked with a sneer, "Witness the strength that aided in conquering three castles! _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Yozora Konsō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu: Tree Demon: Night Sky Root Spears Jutsu!)"**

 **Naruko's instincts screamed at her to move and she obeyed them, dodging to the side, just in time to avoid half a dozen root spears that had fallen from the dome of the _Konrō_. Her danger radar was still at high alert, so she kept moving. She heard the 'thunk-thunk-thunk' of more roots slamming into the earth behind her two seconds after she had vacated that spot.**

"It's a part of the demon tree that's doing the actual tracking and shooting." Yuki informed the worried genin. "Kogorō's not competent enough to be able to use such a jutsu without something holding his hand through it." That got a few snickers for the insult.

 _' **Shit! A tracking attack jutsu that comes from the damn dome!'**_ **Naruko thought as she sped around the courtyard, _'Let's see how it treats multiple targets…'_**

 **" _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Naruko shouted as she made the cross-like Clone Handsign, causing a thousand clones to appear in the courtyard.**

 **Almost immediately, root spears began descending from the dome above, lancing towards the clones at impressive speed. More than a few were impaled and popped from existence in the first moment, with the remainder leaping around like frogs to dodge them.**

 **The original Naruko sped towards Kogorō determinedly, avoiding clones and root spears as she went until she was within sword distance from the _Jarinma_ user. Turning her run into a rapid slide, she neatly nutmegged him, going right between his legs and slashed at where the tendons should be on the root-body as she passed just to be safe.**

The genin looked at Yuki. " _Nutmegged_?"

Yuki looked amused. "Getting past someone by sliding under their legs."

 **"What the…?!" Kogorō started to say, before a dozen root spears struck his body, piercing through the root armor of his construct with barely a pause, starting at the groin-area and ending with a pair missing the head-area by less than an inch.**

If it weren't for the fact Hinata was sitting on Naruto's lap and therefor pinning him to the couch, Naruto would have fallen off laughing. "He... He... He got nut-shotted _by his own jutsu_! HAHAHA!"

 **"GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kogorō roared in pain. He couldn't believe it! The whelp had, once again, turned one of _his own_ jutsu against him! What was worse, she was sending more clones after him so they could do the same thing!**

 **"KAI!" he roared, ceasing the rain of spears. He could feel the points of the spears piercing the flesh of his actual body. He had been struck at least four times in the abdomen and a single time in his right shoulder. The shoulder wound was not a concern, but three of the four shots to his abdomen were deep, puncturing his internal organs. His intestines were definitely hit badly, as was his stomach, his spine and quite possibly his spleen.**

Kiba was snickering along with a few others. "Killed by his own jutsu like that ain't doing much for his pride is it?"

Naruto was still laughing. "All... in a... day's... work... Kiba!"

 **In other words, if he didn't find a Med-nin shortly, he would die a slow and _painful_ death. This was an issue. The Yanagi's only med-nin had been killed ten years ago, along with his apprentice.**

 **This had not been an issue once the _Jarinma no Jutsu_ had been created and issued to him, as nothing could pierce the root armour it gave him, but now? Now it was vital that he see one.**

 ** _'Shit. I'm dead.'_ Kogorō thought calmly as he tugged the ten spears embedded in his body out one at a time methodically, blood coating four of the tips, _'This little bitch has killed me, and it was my own jutsu that did it! Unbelievable.'_**

Everyone took a page out of Naruto's book. "Believe it!"

 **Disbelief warred with rage within his mind as he turned to view Naruko, who was leaning against a root spear with a crooked grin on her face.**

 **"Kai." he said quietly and the roots making up the body of the Jarinma retracted into the ground, revealing Inaba Kogorō clutching his abdomen as blood flowed freely from the wounds Naruko had caused.**

 **"Giving up, teme?" Naruko asked through narrowed eyes. She was unsure why he had released his jutsu.**

 **"Hardly." Kogorō snorted as he coughed up blood. Wiping his face, he continued, "I'm dying, no question of that. The _manner_ of my death, however, is my choice, and I will die in service to the Yanagi Clan. I will, at the very _least_ , take you down with me!"**

Naruto, having calmed down, scoffed "Like _that_ 'll ever happen, there's still a _whole lot_ of the book left!"

 **From the small of his back, he pulled a tantō. The blade was etched with an odd array of seals, an Fūinjutsu that Naruko did not recognise.**

 **Raising up his blade with his left arm, Kogorō screamed, "FOR THE YANAGI CLAN!", before plunging the tantō into his stomach. Naruko was taken aback. Was he committing Seppuku? A _ninja_ committing ritual suicide?**

Everyone quieted down at hearing that, what was going on?

 **Leaving the blade embedded in his abdomen, Kogorō shakily ran through a series of handsigns before grinning triumphantly at Naruko as blood seeped from his mouth.**

 **" _Yanagi Kinjutsu Ōgi: Jarin Maō no Jutsu_! (Yanagi Forbidden Jutsu, Ultimate Technique: Evil Forest Demon King Jutsu!)" He bellowed.**

 **"A Life Sacrifice Jutsu!" Naruko exclaimed, "You really _are_ insane!"**

 **"No, young one." Kogorō said as he began to sink into the ground, "I am a ninja, thus I will go to any lengths to slay the foes of my mistress."**

Most of the Jonin and clan heads scoffed, that's not what a ninja was at all!

 **With that, Kogorō disappeared beneath the surface of the earth, leaving the soil barely disturbed. Naruko looked around nervously. There was no telling what this Jutsu would do.**

 **Moving swiftly, she made her way to the castle wall and ran up it, ending up on the roof. Her remaining clones -about 600 of them- followed suit. When there wasn't room on the roof, the clones spread out up the wall and onto the next level of the roof, even going so far as to stick to the wall with chakra.**

 **Just after the last clone assumed a defensive stance, the ground where Inaba Kogorō disappeared began to shake and bulge, like something enormous was rising up to the surface. The bulge grew and grew until it was the size of Kogorō's _Jarinma_ form. Then, with an almighty crack, the earth surrounding whatever was causing the bulge shattered, revealing…**

 **…A giant hand. It was made entirely out of roots and was still growing out of the ground. Naruko gaped at it in shock as an elbow appeared out of the ground. The arm slowly twisted around and the hand descended to the ground with a slam, which shook the earth and even the castle.**

 **Movement in the earth to the other side of the courtyard caught Naruko's eye and she looked around just in time to see another bulge appear in the ground. She stood frozen in shock as another arm broke through the earth and slammed its hand on to the ground. Then they began pushing at the ground.**

 **An enormous bulge appeared between the two arms and continued to grow. The earth groaned, cracked, splintered and finally exploded as the form of Kogorō's _Jarin Maō no Jutsu_ finally emerged from beneath the ground, ready to attack.**

 **Naruko gazed at it in astonishment and decided that she had better have a word with the Kyūbi.**

 ** _'Ummm…Kyūbi-sama…can you see what I can see?'_ Naruko asked with uncharacteristic nervousness.**

That made the others sit up and take notice. Naruko being excessively polite in the middle of battle? Something was up.

 ** _'What are you-'_ The Kyūbi asked grumpily as he synced his sight with Naruko's then cut himself off with a loud, _'Bloody Hellfire!'_**

 ** _'If the Kyūbi is taken aback, then I am in more trouble than I thought.'_ Naruko considered numbly as she looked up at the titan that had once been Inaba Kogorō.**

* * *

 **With the rest of Team 8...**

 **Anko was rather disappointed at how easily the Inaba Clan guards had fallen. After seeing how badly Naruko had been beaten by Kogorō, Anko had expected the foot-soldiers to put up a good fight. They _had_ tried valiantly, but she personally wouldn't have assessed them as any higher than Low-Chunin at best.**

 **Even without her summoning arts, Anko was a well-rounded Tokubetsu Jonin. Her Taijutsu Style, a modified version of Orochimaru's own _Shirohebi no Mai_ (Dance of the White Snake) Style that she called _Murasakihebi no Mai_ (Dance of the Purple Snake), was both fast and lethal in close quarters and she had dealt with the two Inaba Clan members without much ado.**

Over with the sensei, Anko was curious about her other's taijutsu style and was giddy to be getting a copy of it to play with.

 ** _'Then again, they can't use their best Jutsu because of their mistress' paranoia.'_ Anko thought as she lead the way for Team 8 as they ran down a corridor that Shin'ichi said headed to the basement.**

 **Ino, right behind Anko, glanced out of the window. The dome of roots had sprung up a few minutes ago, signalling that Kogorō had somehow managed to get outside.**

 **"I hope Naruko-chan is alright." the Yamanaka Heiress muttered.**

 **"Of course she is." Kurenai said, "I disapprove of Naruko disobeying order as she has, but she doesn't make the same mistake twice. If she's confronting Inaba Kogorō, she has a plan."**

 **Right on cue, a shriek of inhuman pain came from the front of the castle, making the Team stop.**

 **"That voice…that was Inaba Kogorō's voice." Shin'ichi said in wonder, "He's been hurt badly if he's shrieking like _that_."**

 **"Good. That's proof Naruko knows what she's doing." Anko said with a grin, "Now let's get down to the basement and find Yanagi Saeko."**

 **"A pointless task as I am already before you." a soft-spoken voice said from the corridor ahead of them, making the shinobi jump and spin around to face the source.**

 **Out of the shadows of the staircase leading to the upper floor ahead of them, a black haired woman stepped forth. Her hair was cut to just beneath her ears and she had a scar across one cheek. She was dressed in a drab grey kimono emblazoned with the Yanagi crest and wore traditional tabi-socks.**

 **In her right hand, she carried a gorgeous spear. The shaft was clearly a standard Mochi Yari shaft issued to Samurai and Ashigaru. The spearhead was a Jūmonji, or cross-shaped spear. The two sections of the blade that gave it its name were slightly curved and the main spear point was shaped like a leaf towards the tip.**

 ** _'Easy to see why it's called 'Ryūga''_ Anko thought as she held up a kunai defensively, _'The damn thing looks just as deadly as a tooth from a dragon.'_**

Tenten was drooling at the sight of the spear.

 **"Was that Kogorō I heard shrieking a moment ago?" Saeko asked curiously.**

 **"Indeed it was, Saeko-sama." Shin'ichi said as he stood forwards, "It has been some time since we last met."**

 **Saeko nodded. "I believe the last time was your appointment as the Castellan of Katagi Kijō, Shin'ichi-san. You are looking quite spry for your advanced age."**

 **"Psh-tish. A mere ninety years is not something to make a fuss over." The Elder scoffed.**

"Pretty spry for an old guy." Kiba remarked.

"Chakra does wonders for the body." Yuki shrugged.

 **"Quite." Saeko replied with a small smile. She looked at the Konoha ninja with a frown, "Where is the blond one I found in the underwater cavern?"**

"So it was her that Naruko saw." The Inuzuka nodded sagely.

"No duh." Ino deadpanned.

 **"You...you knew of the tunnel?" Shin'ichi asked in shock, "No, before that, you can open the doors?!"**

 **The Yanagi nodded. "I discovered notes about it in Otou-sama's personal safe. I erased any mention of them during Ane-ue's coup, while she was bust slaughtering and sacrificing people. The Yanagi had discovered the door shortly after the creation of Konohagakure and spent the next twenty years figuring out how to open it. Once they did, they seeded the tunnel with traps before closing it up again." Saeko told him.**

 **"So you went through the tunnel and disabled all of the Yanagi Clan's traps." Shin'ichi said in wonder.**

 **"You said you discovered one of my genin down there. Did you do anything to her?" Anko asked sharply.**

 **Saeko regarded her with a cocked head. "Aside from a mild healing jutsu and dragging her fully out of the water, no." she replied.**

 **Just then, a series of minor earthquakes rocked the castle. Saeko paled as an enormous roar echoed throughout the dome. "Oh no. Surely he didn't use _that_ Jutsu!?" she exclaimed, a slight edge of fear in her voice.**

 **"What? What Jutsu?" Ino asked.**

 **"A Jutsu that sacrifices the user's life in exchange for true assimilation with the Mashinju." Saeko replied, "The user loses their body of flesh and bones in exchange for one made solely of roots infused with Natural Energy and the foul chakra of the Mashinju. The Jutsu only lasts as long as the person or persons the user was fighting lives. Once they die, the roots that now make up the user's body are then reabsorbed by the demon tree."**

 **"So…something similar to the _Jarinma no Jutsu_ , except permanent?" Kurenai asked.**

 **"The resulting body is roughly three-quarters of the size of the main castle." Saeko replied in a half-strangled tone, "Follow me."**

 **She turned and walked towards the stairs. Team 8 followed her, fear for their teammate. She led them down the stairs and into a laboratory of some sort, the walls white and stark. Attached to one wall was a blank screen. Saeko walked over to it and tapped a few buttons on the panel next to it, making the screen hum to life.**

 **"Dear Sweet Merciful Kami…" Kurenai breathed in horror at what was on the screen, which, Saeko explained quietly, was showing the security camera at the pinnacle of the castle roof and it was currently pointed at the front courtyard where the clash was taking place.**

 **The camera wasn't designed for use in the darkness, but what little they could make out did not inspire confidence in the gathered kunoichi.**

 **What had formerly been Inaba Kogorō was now a root construct well over twice the height of the Hokage Tower. It greatly resembled a Tengu from mythology, complete with a long nose and bird-like wings, wearing yamabushi (Mountain Hermit) robes and a Tokin (Mountain Hermit hat).**

Yuki brought up a picture of a Tengu for reference.

 **"Oh… _hell_." Anko said.**

* * *

 **With Naruko…**

 ** _'So, Kyūbi, got any bright ideas?'_ Naruko asked as she stared at the giant…Tengu?…that was her current opponent.**

 ** _'Try not to die?'_ the ever practical fox offered.**

 ** _'Thank you so much, Captain Obvious!'_ Naruko replied furiously.**

Yuki immediately responded with, "You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm!" and was way to chipper about it, although the genin had no idea what a Lieutenant was.

 **The head of the Tengu shifted down to look at her and the mouth opened.**

 **"So, Whelp, are you ready to give up and die now you have seen my most powerful form?" Kogorō's voice boomed from the open mouth.**

 **"Hardly." Naruko scoffed, "As big as you are, all you are now is a target. The more there is of you, the more there is to hit."**

 **With that, she made the Clone Handsign again. " _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" she called.**

 **Over a thousand more clones flashed into existence in and around the grounds and castle. Kogorō was not impressed.**

 **"Mere Clones cannot harm me, child. I am now truly as one with the Mashinju." Kogorō said condescendingly, "You cannot harm me and I will not stop until I kill you."**

 **"We'll soon see about that!" Naruko roared, "Get him!" she ordered her clones.**

 **With a roar, the newly summoned clone army attacked the Kogorō-Tengu. They ran up his legs and stabbed with their swords, used their fire jutsu to try to burn him and even used their lightning jutsu to try to fry him.**

 **None of it worked.**

 **"Hmmm…I have the feeling that something is trying to give me a mosquito bite." Kogorō said mockingly, "I'd better deal with it."**

 **He began casually dusting himself off as if he had just been coated in dust during a long journey. Soon, all of the Naruko clones clambering over him were gone.**

 **Naruto growled at the mocking his other was enduring.**

 **"Huh…OK then." Naruko said with a cocked head.**

 ** _'Hey fox, what you think the inside of that thing looks like?'_ she asked her tenant.**

 ** _'Probably solid roots.'_ opined the Kyūbi, _"though it never hurts to make sure.'_**

 ** _'Down the hatch it is.'_ Naruko replied. She made a single Shadow Clone, punched it to dispel it and watched as the knowledge of that one clone was distributed amongst the rest of the 600 clones on the castle, which was rather amusing to watch and hear the reactions to the orders.**

 **"Gross!"**

 **"Yuck!"**

 **"Urgh! Do we _have_ to?"**

"Naruto…is your other planning what I think she's planning?" Sakura asked with raised eyebrows.

"Probably." Naruto grinned. "It'll be fun to find out."

 **"Yes you do!" Naruko shouted, "The 100 clones closest to the top, execute the operation!"**

 **Grumbling, the selected clones leapt for Kogorō, ran up to his mouth and dived in.**

 **"What the…?!" Kogorō exclaimed, vainly trying to stop them, but it seemed that his mouth remained open whenever he spoke, meaning his own words allowed the clones to infiltrate his interior.**

 **Before long, a series of bags, flashes and yells erupted from within Kogorō.**

 **"Gaaaaaaaah!" Kogorō bellowed, "Get out of there you little insects!"**

 **He opened his mouth as wide as it would go and shoved a hand inside, attempting to root out the clones assailing his innards.**

Yuki couldn't help but joke, "Look ma! No gag reflex!", earning a few chuckles.

 ** _'Interesting. It isn't actually solid in there. It's a replica of the anatomy of the human body.'_ Naruko though clinically as a few of her clones were dispelled, _'Seems like going inside is the best plan. He can't seem to manipulate the innards of his new body. Hey fox, you ready with the chakra?'_**

 ** _'As I said before, brat, yes!'_ The millennia old fox growled.**

 ** _'OK, OK, don't get your fur in a twist, Sheesh!'_ Naruko replied.**

 **"Alright, ladies. Down the hatch!" The Uzumaki Heiress ordered, to the horror of her 500-odd remaining clones, "And no bitching about it either!"**

 **"Like I'd just let you, whelp!" Kogorō roared, " _Senpō: Tengu Toppū_! (Sage Art: Tengu Squall!)"**

 **His enormous wings, which had previously been furled on his back, shot out to half of their full length, which was as far as the dome would allow him to unfurl them, drew them back and thrust them towards the castle which Naruko and her clones were standing on, unleashing an enormous gale of wind at his targets.**

Jiraiya scoffed over in the council section. That was a half-baked use of Natural Energy, barely worthy of the name of Senjutsu.

 **Naruko went on all fours and stuck herself to the roof with chakra. She was the only one who did, her clones being blown away and dispelled like leaves in a hurricane by the powerful Sage Jutsu.**

 **Once the wind passed, Naruko wasted no time in charging the several story high Tengu.**

* * *

 **Back with the Others…**

 **"…What the _hell_ is she _doing_?" Kurenai asked, aghast. She, along with every other person in the room, had watched in bemusement as Naruko had force-fed 100 copies of herself to Kogorō's Tengu body, then in fear for Naruko as Kogorō had gotten angry and flapped his wings, creating a massive blast of wind that had almost tore the camera from its housing in the roof.**

 **Hell, the wind had shattered every glass window in the entire castle!**

 **"Of course!" Saeko gasped, "She's going to attack him from the inside out! Kogorō has no experience at manipulating roots within his own body, so he will be the next best thing to defenseless against your friend's attacks!"**

 **"Go Naruko!" Ino cheered, "Take that oversized chicken down!"**

 **"G-Ganbare! (Go for it!) Naruko-chan!" Hinata cheered quietly.**

Yuki looked up from the book "Can anyone else picture Hinata waving around a large sports banner?" That got a few more chuckles and a few giggles. Hinata herself blushed furiously.

 **"Gaki's crazy." Anko shook her head with a grin smeared across it, "But damn me if she doesn't make me feel sorry for the poor fucks who have to fight her. Hell, I am _so_ looking forward to the next Chunin Exams just so I can point and laugh as she humiliates all the other genin."**

 **"ANKO! Language!" Kurenai scolded her friend.**

 **"Bite me."**

Yuki projected a 'Kinky!' over in the Sensei section and nearly broke out laughing at the responses he got.

 **Anko replied as she turned her attention back to the screen, where Naruko was leapfrogging from arm to arm as Kogorō tried in vain to reduce her from being three-dimensional to two-dimensional.**

* * *

 **Back with Naruko…**

 **"Whoa!" Naruko yelped as a hand twice the length and breadth of a horse and cart smashed down where she had been a moment before, the wind pressure pushing her further away than she would have liked, so she created a Shadow Clone that threw her in the right direction before dispelling.**

 ** _'Damn it, this guy is persistent!'_ Naruko thought in frustration, _'Every time I get close to his head, he pushes me back! I have to distract him somehow…I know!'_**

 **Quickly, she created another Shadow Clone and smacked it to dispel it. Then she continued playing the mole in Whack-a-Mole as she waited for her plan to come to fruition.**

 **"Gaaaaah! HEARTBURN!" Kogorō screamed as he clutched his chest in pain. Naruko grinned as she leapt down his throat thanks to a series of Shadow Clones throwing her like a javelin.**

 **The interior of Kogorō's new root body was, to put it bluntly, disgusting. The roots looked even creepier up close in the darkness than they did from a distance, pulsing with malevolent green and black veins that made Naruko feel slightly nauseous.**

The genin weren't far behind, especially Naruto. Yuki gave them all some Pepto Bismol. Everyone agreed that it did indeed taste like pink.

 **As she hopped down what she supposed she could call Kogorō's throat, she mentally reviewed the Katon Ninjutsu that the Kyūbi had loaned to her and the handsigns she needed to pull it off. It was not going to be easy, especially since she had to fuel the jutsu with just the Kyūbi's chakra.**

 ** _'Man, I get to use an A-Rank Jutsu, and then I have to forget how to use it! This bites…'_ Naruko thought as she paused at a division in the throat.**

 ** _'What the…oh, right. One leads to the stomach, the other goes to the lungs.'_ Naruko considered which cavernous entrance to enter, _'Well, all the clones that went down the left passage are still alive, so that's the way to go.'_**

 **Kogorō, meanwhile, was writhing as his sudden, not to mention excruciating, pain in his heart continued. He was howling in agony and he couldn't understand why. He had a body of roots now, so why did he still feel pain?!**

"Because he's a moron? And because plot?"

 **He slammed his chest several times in an effort to stop whatever it was that was causing him pain. It did work for a minute, but then the pain came back redoubled.**

 **"Gaaah! Brat, I am going to torture you to death!" Kogorō bellowed, "Get out here and fight me like a warrior!"**

"Ninja!" was the shout from the genin in response.

 **Naruko, after almost being deafened by the root-Tengu's bellow, continued her descent, muttering about loudmouths as she did.**

 **"Wow." she remarked a few minutes later. She had finally made it to the lungs, or at least the _facsimile_ of lungs that the root jutsu had created. Quite _why_ the jutsu had replicated the internal organs, Naruko didn't get. The guy was made of _roots_ ; he didn't _need_ to breathe at all.**

That got nods from a few people. Shikamaru thought that Saeko might have created it like that for some reason... Either that or his subconscious structured the body they way it was used to controlling.

 **Dismissing the bizarreness of the Yanagi Kinjutsu for the moment, Naruko found the hole that her clones had cut in the lungs and leapt to it to see the distraction she had used to get inside being performed by her clones.**

 **They were literally causing the false-heart to burn via judicious use of _Katon: Endan_ and _Katon: Takibi_ , along with some encouragement from _Fūton: Reppūshō_.**

Kiba had a wide grin. "Ok, now THAT is some real heartburn."

Chōji chuckled and responded. "And there's no remedy on the planet for it."

 **Naruko grinned. Judging from the loud curses and invectives Kogorō was bellowing he was in quite a bit of pain. Not as much as he was about to be in, but it was still not bad for a pair of C-Rank Katon jutsu.**

 ** _'Make sure you have an escape plan ready, brat.'_ The Kyūbi advised her gruffly, _'Once this jutsu takes hold, only the_ Amaterasu _(Heavenly Illumination) Jutsu of the Uchiha Clan burns more fiercely than this one. You do not want to get caught by it.'_**

That caught Sasuke's attention something fierce.

 ** _'Gotcha, fox.'_ Naruko replied. She spread her arms wide and then dove headfirst out of the hole as if she were diving into a pool of water.**

 **" _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" she called as she fell, creating yet more clones that fell with her as she descended to the bottom of the root being. Deciding that a bit of spite was in order; Naruko landed on the root-bladder and ordered her Shadow Clones to jump on it.**

 **Kogorō's howl of agony cut off as another, less painful, but by no means less urgent feeling replaced it: he desperately needed to piss. Unfortunately, his new body did not actually have any of the plumbing to do so; therefore, he _couldn't_ piss, regardless of how he felt.**

Naruto was once again attempting to relocate to the floor in hysterics.

 **"When you get out of me, I am going to kill you! You hear me whelp? You are dead meat!" Kogorō raged.**

 **"Man is this guy noisy." Naruko complained. She moved to the edge of the bladder and looked down. Seeing that she was almost at the bottom of Kogorō's innards (NOT a pleasant thought), she decided to create her escape route before she blasted the place.**

 **"Ladies!" Naruko called, " _Jinkei: Bunshin Hashigo_! (Formation: Clone Ladder!)"**

 **In a short time, a chain of Naruko-clones stretched up to the original hole in the root-lung that she had dived out of. After ensuring that the top and bottom clones were sticking to their respective surfaces with chakra, Naruko closed her eyes.**

 ** _'Kyūbi. It's time. Let me have some of your chakra, if you please.'_ Naruko sent to the fox sealed in her midriff.**

 ** _'As you will. Be careful. The first taste of my chakra is quite…intoxicating.'_ The Kyūbi warned before sending his chakra through the seal.**

 **Naruko stiffened. The chakra of the Kyūbi no Kitsune was more powerful than she had ever dreamed it could be. Her chakra network was flooded with magma. She shivered as it filled her to the brim. She held up a hand in fascination as her nails elongated into claws. On her clones, she could see the whisker-like scars on the cheeks become more defined and her blue eyes turn the same slit-crimson as the Kyūbi's own eyes.**

An image of Naruko using the Kyūbi's chakra appeared at Yuki's gesture, and both Shikamaru and Kiba, for various reasons, were very intimidated by the sight.

 ** _'Brat! Focus!'_ The Kyūbi reminded her harshly.**

 **"R-Right!" Naruko growled out in a deeper, rougher voice than her usual tone and began slowly running through the handsigns for the Katon Jutsu.**

 **"Tori (Bird), Uma (Horse), Tatsu (Dragon), Tori, Hitsugi (Ram), Tatsu, Tora (Tiger), Kitsune (Fox)!" Naruko whispered to remind herself. The final handsign was one that bore a resemblance to the Boar handsign, with the only two differences being the middle fingers, pinkies and thumbs were extended and it was pointed up rather than down.**

Yuki muttered to himself, "Meh, I prefer my Kitsune sign to be the Hebi with extended pinkie and index fingers..."

 **" _Yōko Katon: Koenryū no Jutsu_! (Demon Fox Fire Style: Fox Flame Dragon Jutsu!)" Naruko roared as she opened her mouth. A small blue fireball sparked into existence just outside of it and grew to the size of an over inflated basketball**

Yuki provided a size comparison, considering they had no idea what a basketball was.

 **before it was launched at the bottom of the root-bladder. As it traveled, it turned into a long, ghostly azure dragon that unleashed a roar that shook Kogorō where he stood.**

The image of the powerful Katon jutsu was very intimidating, sending chills down the spines of everyone who saw it, even the Hokage.

 _'Time to get the heck outta Dodge, I think.'_ **Naruko thought as she dashed up the clone-ladder with speed that took her by surprise. She was moving half again her fastest non-chakra running pace and she hadn't channeled any chakra to her legs yet.**

 _'Move it, Brat!'_ **The Kyūbi roared. Naruko automatically channeled chakra to her legs and became a red and blond blur as she zipped up the clone-ladder.**

 **Behind her, the pale blue light of her _Koenryū_ became brighter and brighter before it impacted on the bottom of the root-bladder and exploded in a mushroom cloud. The heat was so intense that Naruko could feel it from where she was running up the clone-ladder, four stories up.**

 **"Made it!" Naruko gasped as she threw herself through the hole in the false-lungs. She felt the clones near the bottom of the ladder dispel due to the intense heat from the flames that her _Koenryū_ created.**

 ** _Definitely_ time to get out of here.**

* * *

 **With Team 8...**

 **"Wh-what _is_ that chakra?" Saeko asked with wide eyes, "Not even the Mashinju feels so _evil_ and malicious!"**

Before anyone who could think of the answer, Yuki spoke up "That is the collective resentment turned hatred that the Kyūbi feels towards humanity for imprisoning it and perverting his father's teachings that have permeated its very being."

Everyone went quiet as everyone processed that.

 **She was shaking in fear, as were Shin'ichi, Ino and Hinata. The four who hadn't felt the chakra of the Kyūbi no Kitsune before were cowering as the overwhelming presence of the demon fox swept over them.**

 **Anko and Kurenai were gobsmacked. What the _hell_ could cause Naruko to tap into the power of her prisoner? The Sandaime had told them that only an actual threat to Naruko's life could draw the chakra out.**

 ** _'Better think of an explanation for these four.'_ Anko thought.**

 **"It's a Kinjutsu that Naruko learned without permission." The Snake Mistress informed them, "Hokage-sama ordered her not to use it unless she was up against a Kage-class enemy, like Orochimaru. I guess she figured that that guy qualified."**

 **"I don't blame her." Kurenai admitted with a sigh, "That thing would need the entire _village_ to take down conventionally."**

 **"What does the Kinjutsu do?" Saeko asked in fascination.**

 **"We…don't actually _know_." Anko acted as if she were embarrassed by this admission, "She had access to the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing for hours. That's where she picked up the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. Who knows what _else_ she found in the damn thing? Whatever it is, Hokage-sama was… _firm_ about her not using it."**

Naruto nodded "That's a good of an excuse as any."

 **"She's out!" called Hinata, who had focussed on the screen in an effort to overcome her fear.**

 **The room's occupants turned back to see the familiar blond haired kunoichi leap from the mouth of the root-Tengu and begin to freefall towards the castle.**

* * *

 **Back with Naruko…**

 **"** _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ **!" Naruko screamed as the castle drew inexorably closer as she fell. Ten Shadow Clones flickered into existence around her. Two maneuvered themselves in front of her and** _Henge_ **'d themselves into giant rubber balloons just in time for them to take the full impact of the crash instead of their original.**

 **"Whew…that was too damned _close_!" Naruko huffed as she recovered from her little fall, "Alright, next time I'm bringing a damned parachute!"**

 **"Whelp! What have you _done_ to me?!" Kogorō roared as his hands clutched at his midriff in pain.**

 **"I put some fire in your belly!" Naruko said with an evil smirk, "Literally. I used an A-Rank Katon Jutsu on you."**

Shino looked at Naruto and nodded slightly. "Very amusing."

 **"Gaaah! You will die by my hand for causing me pain even in this divine form!" Kogorō growled in anger.**

 **"You wanna dance? Sure." Naruko grinned, " _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"**

 **An army of clones appeared, ready to fight. Naruko directed them rapidly until they were evenly distributed across the entire castle roof.**

 **"You'd better be careful, Kogorō-teme. You wouldn't want to damage your mistress' castle now would you?" Naruko taunted him.**

 **"Why you crafty little bitch!" Kogorō roared, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Shihyō no Jutsu_!"**

 **The ground around the root-Tengu shifted, cracked and spit apart, revealing a small army of corpses clawing their way to the surface. They were dressed in kimono's bearing the symbols of the Kashi, Kaba and Momiji Clans and had obviously been drained of all of their blood.**

 **Naruko scowled. "Teme, you have no respect for the dead. Not only that, I defeated this jutsu yesterday, remember?"**

 **To illustrate her point, her shadow clones began bombarding the shuffling corpses with the tried and tested combination of _Katon: Takibi_ and _Futon: Fūrō_ , incinerating them by the dozen. Even as she destroyed them though, more and more continued to claw out of the earth and advanced on the castle.**

 **"Hahahahahahahahaha!" The Kogorō-Tengu boomed with laughter, "Even if you can destroy some of them, you cannot destroy all of them! The vast majority of the sacrifices offered to the Mashinju over the last decade have been buried underneath the grounds of the castle. Hundreds of ninja and civilians are at my command!"**

 **"Sick bastard!" Naruko snarled and a hundred of her Shadow Clones changed targets and began weaving handsigns as they glared at the giant root-Tengu.**

 **" _Raiton: Hekireki no Jutsu_! (Lightning Style: Thunderclap Jutsu!)" They chanted as the clones all clapped their hands at once, unleashing a hundred bolts of lightning at Kogorō's towering form. As they struck him in roughly the same area, the damage was rather severe.**

 **"Gaaaaah!" Kogorō screamed in agony, "Why? Why do I feel pain? This body is made of roots! I should feel nothing!"**

 **"Because your mind actually linked to the roots, teme." Naruko replied coldly, "What's the matter? Feeling a bit…hot under the collar? Is the pressure finally getting to you?"**

 **"Whelp, what nonsense are you blathering about?" The former human scoffed, before he realised that he _was_ feeling hot. It burned him, scorched him and seemed to reach out to consume him. His insides were burning!**

 **"What have you done?!" Kogorō demanded harshly.**

 **"Remember the Katon Jutsu I used on you?" Naruko asked with a smirk, "It was a very _special_ Katon. It was designed to _feed_ off chakra-powered constructs like you. When you pump massive amounts of chakra through your body, the flames spread, grow and burn hotter. As for the Natural Energy, you have flowing through you? That's like adding pure oxygen to the flames. You will be consumed by the flames from the inside out and there is nothing you can do to stop it!"**

Jiraiya was in absolute shock, to the point of being basically catatonic upon hearing what that jutsu did. His precious Sage Jutsu would be useless against that! Worse, they would be fed upon!

 **Kogorō's eyes widened in shock. All this time, she had a trump card like that up her sleeve? Why didn't she use it before now? No, that was irrelevant right now. He had to kill _her_ before the flames killed _him_ , regardless of the damage the castle took in the crossfire.**

 **Sae-sama would understand…he hoped.**

 **"Heh…well, if I'm going to die, whelp, then I'm going to drag you down to Hell with me!" Kogorō roared as he drew his massive right fist back, " _Senpō: Kūken no Jutsu_! (Sage Art: Void Fist Jutsu!)"**

 **He shot his fist forwards, unleashing a massive wind bullet laced with Natural Energy at the Naruko and the castle she stood on.**

 **"Shit!" Naruko yelped as she leapt off of the roof just in time to avoid the incoming jutsu. She still got clipped by the edge of it and was sent flying and crashed heavily into the ground, driving all of the breath from her lungs.**

Naruto winced, that absolutely had to hurt and if it wasn't for the fact that he had a really strong dislike for pity, he'd be feeling it for his other.

 **Her clones were all wiped out by the Sage jutsu and the castle was struck a heavy blow. The roof was crushed and a massive hole was ripped through it, right down to the basement.**

 **Naruko struggled to her feet, gasping for breath. _'Ow…that hurt. Don't think anything's broken though…ah crap, the corpse soldiers.'_**

 **Indeed, she was surrounded by the reanimated bodies, at least a hundred of them. She held herself at the ready for when they attacked. Kogorō began cackling evilly.**

 **"Hahahahahaha! Not so tough now, are you girl! Consider yourself honored to die at the hands of the former Clan Heads of the Kashi, Kaba and Momiji Clans! Now, _Kōgeki Ka_ -aaaaaarrrgggghhh!"**

 **The reason Kogorō screamed became apparent when his entire right arm suddenly became set ablaze with ghostly blue flames along its entire length.**

 **"Wha-what the hell is the meaning of this!?" Kogorō screamed.**

 **Naruko grinned humorlessly. "You used a jutsu, didn't you? Not only that, a _Sage_ Jutsu. You drew the flames of my _Koenryū no Jutsu_ right to your arm, both within and without, via the flow of the Natural Chakra. Soon, it will be nothing more than ash, along with the rest of your body!"**

"She's been hanging around Anko too much." Yuki sweatdropped at the sadistic expression in the girl's eyes.

 **"DIE!" Kogorō shrieked, "Die already, you insignificant cockroach!"**

 **He drew back his flaming arm and drove it straight downwards at Naruko, who leapt into the air to avoid it. She was still channelling the Kyūbi's chakra, so she jumped further than she expected.**

 **Although he missed Naruko, he hit his own corpse soldiers, infecting them with the fire of the _Koenryū_. In a handful of moments, all of the corpse soldiers were aflame, the pale blue fire spreading to the rest of them swiftly, soon reducing the corpse soldiers to ashes.**

The adult shinobi were all smirking, it was always amusing seeing the enemy wipe out their own forces like that.

 ** _'Brat, you need to finish this quickly.'_ growled the Kyūbi as she landed and started running towards Kogorō, _'Your body won't be able to handle much more of my chakra before it starts to poison you. I'd say you have five minutes, tops, before I'll have to cut it off.'_**

 ** _'So, five minutes to kill an oversized root-Tengu. No problem.'_ Naruko thought calmly. She began to run up the leg of the root-Tengu, angling around to the back of the leg to make it that much more difficult to hit her.**

 **"Why you…!" Kogorō growled. He began smacking his leg where he thought Naruko was, but was dodged by Naruko at every turn. The Uzumaki Heiress hacked and slashed roots at every opportunity she had with her Kongōgatana, the blade biting deeply each time.**

 **Naruko made it to an area where it was awkward for him to reach in order to hit her -between his wings. She paused there as his left arm flailed away at his back.**

 ** _'He isn't thinking clearly.'_ Naruko thought critically, _'He should use a Yanagi Kinjutsu to attack me when I'm in such a position that using his arms is ineffective, even if it causes the flames of the_ Koenryū _to spread. He is dying after all, so regardless of what he does, he will die soon.'_**

 **Naruko decided that she had to do something to end this faster. She could not just sit back and let her Katon Jutsu eat away at him. It would take far too long and there was always the chance that he could get lucky and take her out.**

 ** _'Brat, try channeling my chakra into your hand.'_ The Kyūbi directed.**

Frowning, Naruko did so and gaped at the result. Her hand, right up to the elbow, was covered in a glowing crimson chakra aura. It was shaped loosely like a larger version of her own arm, right down to the claws that had temporarily replaced her fingernails.

 ** _'Looks like that's as far as you can get.'_ Kyūbi grunted, _'Brat, this is the true first level of my power -the_ Yōko no Koromo _(Demon Fox's Cloak). As you are still unaccustomed to my power, it would seem that you can only use it over a single arm, but that should be enough to take this fool down.'_**

 ** _'So…what do I do?'_ Naruko asked as she began to run up the partially unfurled wing of the root-Tengu.**

 ** _'Slash an opening in his head with your Adamantine Katana and then impale the opening with the hand that is cloaked in my chakra.' The fox directed, 'My chakra is toxic and corrosive to any but you. If you inject it into his chakra network, it should speed up his destruction by quite a bit.'_**

 ** _'His_ entire body _is a chakra network now! Why the head in particular?'_ Naruko argued as she leapt over the arm that Kogorō had sent her way once he realised where she was. Instead of squashing her, he struck his own wing with enough force to break it, making the former human shriek in pain. Naruko heard the snap as she made another Shadow Clone to launch her at Kogorō's head.**

 ** _'The Third Eye Point, brat!'_ The Kyūbi shot back, _'Even if his body has been replaced by roots, the concentrations of chakra will remain the same! The Third Eye is the easiest point to access from where you are now! Just aim for the centre of the forehead, understood?'_**

Yuki displayed a diagram of all of the locations on the human body where the 'chakras' appeared.

 ** _'Alright already! Jeez, you're worse than Anko-sensei when she teaches me Shurikenjutsu!'_ Naruko replied.**

 ** _'I should think so! I am countless years older than she is!'_ The Kyūbi huffed, making Naruko roll her eyes impatiently.**

 **The Shadow Clone threw her at Kogorō's head, which had turned to glare at her malevolently.**

 **"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Kogorō shrieked, clearly being driven mad by the constant burning, " _Yanagi Kinjutsu: Mokki: Meido Konsō no Jutsu_!"**

 **From his mouth, a mass of roots lanced out to try to turn her into a pincushion. Naruko rolled in mid-air, dodging several and lashed out with the sword to cut down several others, which slowed her down.**

 **She used the momentum from her last forward cut to arc her body around, land atop one of the roots and start running down it. She cut down several roots that assailed her and then tried something: the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu without the handsign.**

 **It only created four clones, but that was enough to throw her towards Kogorō's head at a breakneck speed.**

 **"Aaaaaagggghhhhh!" Naruko yelled a wordless battle cry as she drew her blade back ready to strike. She noted out of the corner of her eye that Kogorō's right arm was almost completely burned to a crisp and the flames were now eating away at his shoulder.**

 **"Whelp!" Kogorō roared as he tried to bring his left arm up to grab her.**

 **He was too slow however.**

 **Naruko's _Kongōgatana_ slammed into the very center of Kogorō's forehead, the blade buried right up to the hilt in the roots. A loud, almost deafening, scream denoted Kogorō's pain. Naruko gritted her teeth, twisted the sword around and cut horizontally in one smooth motion, opening up a foot long gash across Kogorō's root body, eliciting yet another scream.**

 **Withdrawing her Katana from the wound, Naruko drew back her left arm, which was still coated in the Kyūbi's chakra.**

 **" _Kyūbi Naruko Rangeki: Yōki Chūsha_! (Nine-Tails Naruko Wild Attack: Demonic Energy Injection!)" She snarled before launching her arm into the wound and unleashing a blast of the Kyūbi's undiluted chakra directly into the monster that had once been Inaba Kogorō.**

 **"Gyyyaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Kogorō shrieked. This pain was so far beyond the other pains he had ever felt in his entire _life_ that a detached portion of his mind wondered why he had screamed out in pain before this. The burning, toxic feeling of whatever the hell it was the whelp had injected into him was rapidly spreading throughout his body, destroying his root body from the inside out, even as the blue flames consumed the Natural Energy that might have countered it.**

 ** _'At…At the very least, I have to kill her…'_ the being who had once been Chief Retainer to the Yanagi Clan thought as the pain threatened to overwhelm him, _'For the Yanagi Clan…and for Sae-sama…'_**

 **Naruko was feeling exhausted. Even though she was only acting as a conduit for the Kyūbi's chakra right now, the effort she had to put forth not to simply collapse was immense. She was so focused on her task that Kogorō's single remaining hand closing around her took her completely by surprise.**

 **She struggled, but the Kyūbi's chakra abruptly cut out, leaving her exhausted. Five minutes must be up.**

 **"Dammit!" Naruko swore as she struggled in his grasp unsuccessfully.**

 **"Whelp…you…have killed me…" Kogorō grunted as he brought her within range of his eyes, "I will not…last…much longer…but I will…see to your…end before…I meet…mine…"**

 **Before Naruko could give a smart reply like 'No', Kogorō drew back his arm and threw her straight into the castle, smashing through walls, ceilings and floors before finally stopping in the basement, unconscious.**

 **Inaba Kogorō staggered, his giant body being devoured by ghostly blue fire and red chakra. The minor wounds that Naruko had cut up his right leg and up his back were vomiting the flames of the _Koenryū_ like miniature waterfalls, his mouth was filled with burning roots that made him look like he had been pranked with an exploding cigar and the centre of his forehead was glowing with a malevolent crimson light.**

 **He suddenly found himself on his knees, utterly unable to stand anymore. What surprised him was the fact that his body wasn't being reabsorbed by the Mashinju. He'd killed the pathetic little bitch. No human could survive _that_ kind of impact.**

 **'Unless…shit! She's still alive!' Kogorō thought desperately as he attempted to stand up again. He couldn't let that girl near Sae-sama!**

 **The blue flames now covered most of his lower body and were creeping up his chest. The red chakra was burning through his head and he was finding it harder and harder to think a coherent thought.**

 **"B…Banzai! Yanagi Ichizoku Banzai! (Ten Thousand Years to the Yanagi Clan!)" Kogorō bellowed as, with a final effort, he staggered to his feet. It was the last thing he ever did as the flames of the _Koenryū_ met the chakra of the Kyūbi within him and reacted explosively.**

 **The Tengu form of Inaba Kogorō expanded like a balloon being filled with hot air. The roots strained to hold the form together, but ultimately, the explosive force tore him apart. The final remnants of Inaba Kogorō, Chief Retainer of the Yanagi Clan and Strongest of the Inaba Clan, were consumed in a giant pillar of ghostly blue flames laced with crimson strands of chakra.**

"Fanatics." Yuki shook his head in disgust. "Let this be a lesson to you all to never devote yourself to something to the point that this idiot did."

The genin nodded in silent agreement.

* * *

 **Back with the Rest of the Team…**

 **"Naruko-chan!" Ino screamed when they saw Naruko thrown into the castle. Hinata was weeping at the sight, with Kurenai comforting her.**

 **"Dammit! She let her guard down again!" Anko snarled, "When I get my hands on her, she is going through Awareness Drills from Hell!"**

A chill ran down Naruto's back at that.

 **"She surely couldn't live on after being thrown through who knows how many layers of stone, wood, concrete and metal at that speed!" Shin'ichi protested.**

 **"Naruko is the last of the Uzumaki, a clan that was known for their strong life-force." Kurenai said absently, "She has more chakra than any five Jonin and a healing factor that defies belief. If anyone could survive that impact, she could."**

 **"Quite." Saeko said crisply as she pointed her spear at Shin'ichi, "But before we go any further, who are you? The _real_ Morimura Shin'ichi was brought in over a week ago and is currently hooked up to the Mashinju."**

 **All the Konoha shinobi drew back from 'Shin'ichi', who merely smiled at Saeko, even with a sharp spear point a scant inch away from his nose.**

 **"You certainly took your time in revealing this. May I ask why?" he asked calmly.**

 **"I was interested in one who could push Kogorō to such an extent that he used the _Jarin Maō no Jutsu_." Saeko replied, "Now he has been taken care of, however…"**

 **"…You move on to the next problem." the fake Village Elder finished, "I see. You always were curious, Saeko-chan."**

 **"Do _not_ refer to me in such a familiar manner!" Saeko hissed, "The only one who could refer to me as such was my father!"**

 **The fake shrugged and formed the Ram handsign. " _Kai_!" he said calmly.**

 **His facial features shifted and changed into a man in his fifties, rather than his nineties. His stooped back straightened and he gained a couple of inches in height. The remnants of snow-white hair turned steel grey and returned to cover most of his head.**

 **Saeko gasped in shock and backed away. "Chichi-ue (Father)?!" she gasped.**

 **The man gave a small bow towards the gobsmacked Kunoichi. "Pardon my deception. Allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Yanagi Gozaburo, formerly the Clan Head of the Yanagi Clan." he said in a well-educated voice, "As well as the father of both Sae and Saeko."**

* * *

Yuki grinned. "Aaand Plot Twist!" he loved the shocked expressions of the reading group at this new reveal. "Next up, Chapter 16: A Father's Tale"


End file.
